Trump Wants To Close The Department Of Education: Here’s How A Closure Would Impact Different Communities

Closing the Department of Education was proposed in Project 2025, the right-wing policy initiative created by conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation. In Agenda47, the list of proposals put forth by President-elect Donald Trump, he also vowed to close the Department of Education. Trump and his allies aren’t the only ones that wants to shut the agency down—many Republicans are in favor of a Department of Education shutdown, including Republican Senators-elect Bernie Moreno and Tim Sheehy. The Department of Education was created in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter and provides funding to low-income K-12 schools and students with disabilities, among many other important functions. Eradicating the agency, which is far-fetched but not impossible, would have detrimental effects on different communities—this article explores some of the wider implications in more detail.

There remains a fundamental lack of understanding regarding what the Department of Education actually does. Libby Stanford explained in a recent Education Week article that the Department of Education has various offices that preside over different programs. A few of these include the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, which focuses on policies that support student achievement in K-12 schools, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, which supports students with disabilities, and the Office for Civil Rights, which ensures there are protections against discrimination based on sex, race, religion and disability status. Dismantling the Department of Education could effectively dissolve Title I—the $18.4 billion education grant program that supports the funding of schools with low-income students. Getting rid of the agency could also impact IDEA, the $14.2 billion education grant program that funds special education services for students with disabilities, as well as a smaller grant offered by the agency, Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which provides funding for the education of multilingual students.

The Department of Education also oversees student loans. In the United States, student loan debt now exceeds $1.7 trillion, according to July 2024 student loan debt statistics from the Education Data Initiative. Despite the fact that in 2020, the Trump Administration issued pandemic relief in the form of a student loan interest pause, Trump has repeatedly bashed the Biden Administration’s student loan debt relief efforts. It’s likely that student loan debt relief programs that were implemented under the Biden Administration will be eliminated under the new administration. 2022 data from LendingTree indicates that Black families hold the highest amount of student loan debt compared to other groups—when examining strategies to remedy this debilitating debt that contributes to economic inequality, student loan debt relief efforts can be a powerful tool to address the issue and can help close the racial wealth gap.

As mentioned, another role of the Department of Education is to “identify, investigate, and resolve school violations of civil rights laws through its office for civil rights.” Through the Office of Civil Rights (OCR), students, school staff, and parents can file a complaint if a school has engaged in discrimination based on sex, race, religion or disability status. While on the campaign trial, Trump pledged to rollback protections for transgender students, who under the Biden Administration were protected under Title IX (although blocked by courts in 26 states). In addition, the elimination of the Department of Education would have deleterious effects on one of the country’s most vulnerable populations—low-income students whose funding within K-12 schools would be at risk. The OCR also plays a vital role in investigating claims of antisemitism, anti-Arab discrimination and other forms of discrimination on college campuses. Addressing claims of discrimination can help colleges and universities foster a culture of belonging and inclusion—getting rid of the Department of Education would negatively impact campus culture.

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During Trump’s first term he tried but failed to get rid of the Department of Education. Eliminating the agency would negatively impact different communities, many of whom are already marginalized. There would also be a decline in teaching staff if the agency were abolished, eliminating the Title I funding that is used to support hiring and retaining teachers, which would further exacerbate a rapidly growing teacher shortage. The Department of Education plays a vital role in funding programs that support students, especially those from the most vulnerable populations. Getting rid of the agency would undoubtedly have negative impacts on our education system now and for generations to come.