United States of America - March 2025

On 20 March, President Trump issued an executive order instructing the Secretary of Education to facilitate the Department’s closure, with the aim of leaving the issue of education to state and local authorities. While officials have stated that crucial services related to student loans and funding for low-income students and high-poverty schools will remain, cuts to staff and data collection have raised questions about if and how money can be allocated and distributed. Relatedly, the Department’s workforce has been significantly reduced, including staff in charge of allotting funding for rural and low-income schools, and USD 600 million in grants (most related to diversity and inclusion programs) have been ended. Republican lawmakers in Congress have put forward initiatives to close the Department, but their party’s slim majority in the House and Senate mean their approval is at this point unlikely. Since the Department of Education was established by Congress, the EO cannot by itself abolish it; it can only facilitate cuts and changes.

Sources: The White House, NBC News, NY Times, NPR