As inauguration day fades into the past, many educators and students fear the looming threats President Donald Trump has made about dismantling the Department of Education. While this is a promise that Trump has made for some time, it has become an increasingly popular narrative in mainstream media this year. Such a change could reshape public education, affecting how it’s structured and impacting schools. Its enactment would have a significant impact on the future of schooling in America.
“ I want to close the Department of Education and move education back to the states, where it belongs,” Donald Trump said to Forbes in September 2023.
Past politicians like former President Ronald Reagan have made promises similar to Trump’s, but for this change to take place, it would have to be approved by 60 Senate yes votes. Although not impossible, past efforts have struggled to make it past this point. There are 53 Republican Senators for 2025, making it unlikely to pass Congress, but this hasn’t stopped Trump from repeating his desire to numerous press outlets as recently as February of this year.
“The Department of Education ensures that important anti-discrimination legislation passed by Congress, such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), is implemented and funded in each U.S. state,” Columbia Heights High School U.S. History teacher Mrs. Erin Edwardson-Stern said. “Dismantling the Department of Education could result in many American students not receiving the services and civil rights protection they need.”
If a bill following Trump’s wishes manages to pass, it could mean some major changes to how the average American views education and enrolls their children in public school as well as how the average U.S. school serves students. At Trump’s Faith and Freedom Conference on June 24 of last year, the then-presidential candidate and former president broke down his priorities when turning education back to the states. He detailed his hopes to decrease the federal funding for schools by half of what it is now. Additionally, he admitted to and even emphasized the possible problems that may come with this.
“We’ll cut our budget in half and not everybody’s going to be great,” Trump said. “I went over them. Forty of the 50 states will do much better.”
According to Trump himself this idea stems from the alleged fact that the United States spends more money per pupil than most countries but despite this remains at the bottom of student capability. Although he does not specify why he believes cutting funding will better our education as a nation. In fact, some studies have found the opposite to be true; when schools experience budget cuts, their graduation rates fall.
The closure of the department could mean a major loss of funding, especially for districts like Minnesota Independent District 13, which functions under the Title I federal program. According to the Department of Education’s 2025 budget summary, they plan to supply Title I districts with a total of 18.6 billion dollars this year. Similarly, this could mean the loss of the planned $14.8 billion the department hoped to provide for special education services that have gone underfunded for years.
“Title funds play a crucial role in providing essential resources that directly contribute to student success,” Director of Finance and Operations for Columbia Heights Public Schools (CHPS) Bryan Hennekens said. “In CHPS, all our schools are Title schools, so this [would] really impact all CHPS students.”
While the closure of the Department of Education seems unlikely, the mere possibility of such a great loss of funding casts a grim shadow over the American public education system.
