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President Donald Trump began the process of dismantling the Department of Education by signing an executive order on Thursday.
The purpose of this move is to fulfill the promise of a long-standing campaign and to transfer more power to the state than education. The president cannot shut down the agency completely without Congressional approval, but the department announced earlier this month that its staff will leave through layoffs and voluntary acquisitions.
It is still unclear what will happen to the agency’s programs and functions, and there are likely legal challenges to Trump’s executive order.
He said federal funds for students with disabilities falling under the Disabled Education Act and Title I funds for low-income schools and federal student loan payments will not be altered by order. However, this order prohibits programs or activities that receive agency funds as it promotes diversity, equity, inclusion or gender ideology.
Advocates of the order say that education oversights should be returned to the state and parents, but opponents argue that the move will undermine children and their ability to learn.
Here’s what you need to know about the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the Department of Education:
Low-income, rural, and students with disabilities may be affected
The Department of Education provides tens of thousands of dollars in funding to support millions of low-income and rural students and students with disabilities.
The agency leaks more than $18 billion in supplemental funds annually to local school districts to provide additional academic support to schools with high poverty rates. Title I Grant serves approximately 26 million low-income students.
The demolition of the department raises concerns about ensuring that states and districts use federal funds in the best way to lead to positive student outcomes, along with the loss of many staff. For example, she questioned whether the state would track student progress.
She also noted that rural and elementary school students rely on the Ministry of Education for technical assistance and for me to implement grants and other programs.
“In fact, it’s very important to continue to question how these cuts affect students because they are,” James said. “We have lost expertise and loss of data collection, monitoring and accountability.”
The Ministry of Education also sets parameters around accommodation for students with disabilities, ensuring the right to free and appropriate public education. The agency funds schools and oversees the Rehabilitation Services Bureau for the deaf and blind people in the United States. The Rehabilitation Services Department provides services aimed at helping Americans with disabilities live more independently and work. The department offers more than $15 billion a year to serve 7.4 million students through the Disability Education Act known as Idea.
While we haven’t seen what will happen to these features yet, Project 2025 is a drastic plan to overhaul the federal government written by several people on Trump’s orbit, calling for a shift to the Department of Health and Human Services, who have no knowledge of the program. It could make it more difficult for students with disabilities to get the services they need, she said.
“What we know is that we are seeing fundamental changes in how we serve students with disabilities or not providing services,” she said.
Questions remain regarding federal student loan management
According to two sources involved in the discussion, the Ministry of Education is struggling to find viable alternative institutions to manage large student debt portfolios. The loan portfolio is a massive $1.8 trillion in debt, with an estimated 40% of loans past the estimated loan estimates increasing from previously reported based on publicly available information.
White House press director Karoline Leavitt announced on Thursday that certain “critical features” such as student loans and management of grants for at-risk students will remain in the Department of Education, Trump will later redistribute to other institutions.
The contradiction could set a challenge for Education Secretary Linda McMahon. Linda McMahon law requires that the department perform some of its council-mandated functions, including managing loans and providing grants to schools in poor areas.
The president previously suggested that a larger portfolio than all but three US banks would be moved to the Treasury Department or SME Management, but these plans are not in shape.
“The Treasury doesn’t want that,” said CNN, according to one of the sources involved in the discussion, that the conversation about moving it to SME management has not progressed.
The Ministry of Education does not control the school’s curriculum.
In the creation of the Ministry of Education, Congress stated:
“The provision of a program governed by a secretary or other officer of the department shall be construed to permit the Secretary or such officer to exercise direction, supervision, or control to administer an employee of an educational institution, school, or school system, except for the existence of an educational institution, school, or school system, except for the existence of an educational institution, accreditation or association, or libraries, or educational institution, except for the existence of an educational institution, or a library, or educational institution, or an educational institution, or a library, or educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or a library, or educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an educational institution, or an
As curriculum responsibilities fall within the state and region, executive orders do not directly affect student curriculum.
Through a combination of layoffs and voluntary “acquisitions,” the Department of Education has announced plans to cut the workforce by almost half since Trump took office.
One of the offices, the Civil Rights Bureau, works to protect students by holding schools and universities that receive federal funds that are responsible for fighting anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism and discrimination against students with disabilities.
The Trump administration has closed seven of its 12 regional offices and fired almost half of its staff
It’s still unclear what will happen in the office. However, employees in the office told CNN that they are very concerned about their ability to effectively handle bills with half of their staff.
“This will completely halt most cases we can incorporate, evaluate and investigate,” said an employee with OCR who asked to remain anonymous in fear of retaliation.
CNN’s Jeff Zeleny contributed to this story.
