Top 4 Reasons Why US Govt. Dismantled Education Department; Check Donald Trump’s Opinion on it

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday, March 20, 2025, directing the dissolution of the Education Department, a department Republicans have discussed abolishing for decades. The decision can be seen as him making an effort to carry out a campaign promise.

According to the directive, Education Secretary Linda McMahon will "take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities, to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law."

It would be difficult and probably would take a congressional act to completely abolish the Department.

Trump and Musk Dismantling Education Department

The Trump administration has already slashed the Department's workforce in half and restructured a large portion of its operations in the weeks since he took office. Numerous contracts that Mr. Trump's counsel Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency deemed "woke" and unnecessary have been terminated. The Institute of Education Sciences, which compiles information on academic achievement in the country, was completely destroyed.

What does the US Education Department Do?

The primary function of the agency is financial. It oversees the federal student loan portfolio and disburses billions of dollars in government funds to schools and universities each year. If the department were to close, all of its responsibilities would have to be transferred to another organization. The Education Department also has a significant regulatory role in providing services for students, including those with disabilities, low-income students, and homeless children.

Stop Federal Funding to Schools If…

Indeed, a key component of Mr. Trump's plans for schools and colleges is federal education funding. In addition to rewarding states and educational institutions that terminate teacher tenure and promote universal school choice, Mr. Trump has threatened to stop federal funding for institutions and schools that promote "critical race theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content."

Only about 14% of public school budgets are funded by the federal government. It is increasingly important to colleges and universities since it provides research funding and government financial aid to help students with their fees.

Top 4 Reasons Trump Decided to Dismantle the Education Department?

There were many reasons that the Education Department was on the radar of Donald Trump and Republicans. Check the key reasons below to help you understand the thought process behind this decision.

Reason 1: Loan Cancellation by Biden Gov

The Education Department manages around $1.5 trillion in student loan debt for over 40 million borrowers. It also oversees the Pell Grant, which provides financial aid to students from low-income families, and manages the FAFSA application, which universities use to allocate financial assistance.

Under President Biden, the department made student loan cancellation a key focus. Although the Supreme Court blocked Biden’s initial plan, his administration still managed to forgive over $175 billion in student debt for more than 4.8 million borrowers by making changes to existing programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness. However, these efforts faced strong opposition from Republicans, with several GOP-led states filing lawsuits against the policy.

Trump’s Opinion

Donald Trump, on the other hand, has strongly criticized Biden’s approach, calling it illegal and unfair. He described the loan cancellation as a “total catastrophe” that misled young people. However, Trump has not outlined a clear plan on how he would handle student debt if elected.

Reason 2: Alleged Mismanagement of Civil Rights

The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights conducts investigations and provides guidelines on how civil rights laws should be administered, including for LGBTQ+ students and students of color. The agency also manages a massive data gathering effort that monitors inequities in resources, course access, and discipline among students of various races and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Trump’s Opinion

Mr. Trump has proposed an alternative view of the office's civil rights mission. Under his leadership, the department has directed the office to prioritize antisemitic allegations above all else, and it has launched investigations into colleges and school sports leagues for permitting transgender athletes to compete on women's teams.

In his campaign platform, Mr. Trump stated that he would take civil rights cases to "stop schools from discriminating on the basis of race." He has called diversity and equity policies in education "explicit unlawful discrimination." His administration has opened investigations into dozens of colleges for suspected racial discrimination.

Mr. Trump has also promised to exempt transgender students from Title IX protections, which affect school regulations about pronouns, bathrooms, and locker rooms. Title IX, which was initially enacted in 1972, was intended to protect women's rights. Last year, Biden's administration stated that the legislation prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, but a court judge overturned such safeguards.

Reason 3: Political Meddling in the Department

While the Education Department does not actively accredit colleges and universities, it does regulate the process by assessing all federally approved accrediting agencies. To be eligible for federal student financial aid, higher education institutions must be accredited.

Trump’s Opinion

Conservatives questioned accreditation in 2022, when the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools raised concerns about political meddling at Florida's public schools and institutions. Mr. Trump has stated that he will remove "radical left accreditors" and accept applications for new accreditors who will uphold standards such as "defending the American tradition" and the removal of "Marxist" diversity administrators.

Although the education secretary has the right to end its affiliation with particular accrediting agencies, this is a difficult process that is rarely followed. Under President Barack Obama, the agency attempted to cancel accreditors for a now-defunct for-profit college network, but the Trump administration opposed the effort. The Biden administration abolished the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools in 2022.

Reason 4: Education Funding

Much of the Education Department's funding for K–12 schools comes from significant government programs including Title I for low-income schools and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. These programs fund services for students with disabilities, reduce class sizes with additional teaching jobs, and compensate social workers and other non-teaching staff in schools.

Trump’s Opinion

During his campaign, Mr. Trump advocated for delegating certain responsibilities to the states. He has not provided details on how the agency's key functions, including transferring federal funds to local governments and schools, will be handled.

The Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, a comprehensive proposal describing a far-right vision for the country, provided a framework for the same. It proposed delegating administration of programs for disabled and low-income children to the Department of Health and Human Services, with the goal of gradually phasing out funding and turning it to no-strings-attached state grants.