The U.S. Department of Education: How Recent Budget Cuts And Policy Changes Might Affect Your Kid
From IEPs to student loans, here’s how it might affect your family.
Even before the 2024 election, President Donald Trump and the Republican Party made no secret of their desire to dismantle the 45-year-old Department of Education. Upon the confirmation of Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Trump said, “I want the states to run schools, and I want Linda to put herself out of a job.”
On March 11, as part of the Department of Education’s “final mission,” nearly 50% of its employees — approximately 1,315 people — were laid off and will be placed on administrative leave on March 21.
In a statement, the Department vowed to “continue to deliver on all statutory programs that fall under the agency’s purview.” But what does the agency manage, exactly, and what is considered statutory? How does that affect our children, and how will the Department fulfill its responsibilities with half its usual workforce?
The work of the Department affects millions of students, but there’s often confusion about what, exactly, they are responsible for in American education. Last year, the Department spent $268 billion across various programs, accounting for 4% of all federal spending. So, where did that all go? And what exactly got cut?
We have gathered a non-exhaustive list of the Department’s primary responsibilities to help parents understand how these changes will affect their families, as well as what the Department does not do.
The Education Department does not dictate curricula
By law, there are no federal national standards for any academic area: the Department is forbidden from mandating “any direction, supervision, or control over the curriculum program of instruction, administration, or personnel of any educational institution, school, or school system.” Each state creates standards while curriculum is determined at the state and district level.
In other words, states already establish their own standards and curricula.
Most school funding does not come from the Department of Education
On average, only about 14% of school funding comes from the federal government, including departments other than the Department of Education. For example, the Department of Agriculture funds school breakfast and lunch programs. Health and Human Services funds Head Start.
It should be noted, however, that depending on the school, this percentage can vary considerably, from no federal funding (rare) to 75% (also rare). In K-12 schooling, the federal contribution to education is even lower overall at approximately 8%.
Since “funding” is broad and broken down into a number of categories, we can get a clearer picture of the ramifications of the Department’s possible closure in the points below.
The Department of Education oversees Civil Rights enforcement
The Department Office of Civil Rights (OCR) is responsible for ensuring the enforcement of civil rights laws and protections in schools and anywhere that receives Department funding. OCR accepts complaints and conducts investigations to ensure students are not discriminated against on the basis of disability, race, color, national origin, sex, or age.
During President Biden’s term, the office received 71,385 complaints and resolved 56,383.
The New York Times reports that this latest round of cuts “decimated” the OCR, halving the staff of this division alone and eliminating the entire investigative staff in seven of the office’s 12 regional branches, including in major cities like San Francisco, New York, and Dallas. If the Department completely shuts, in addition to pending cases languishing, any new complaint will have to be addressed by half the usual number of staff.
The Associated Press reports that the remaining staffers do not see how they will be able to take on their former colleagues' caseloads. The Department already had a significant backlog of cases, ranging from families trying to get services to help their child with disabilities to accusations of sexual violence on college campuses. Neither McMahon nor Trump has indicated how they expect to bridge this gap.
ED manages approximately $1.5 trillion in student loan debt
The Office of Federal Student Aid funds higher education aid programs like Pell Grants and federal student loans.
Pell Grants assist undergraduate students with “exceptional financial need.” While the most any individual student could have received this academic year is $7,395, spending on Pell Grants usually comes in at around $30 billion per year.
The federal student loan program offers more generous loans than they would receive from private lenders by offering income-driven repayment plans, lower interest rates, deferred payments, and even debt forgiveness.
While the terms of existing student loans have not changed (with a potential notable exception), the Associated Press reports that 300 staffers were cut from Federal Student Aid. The day after the staff reduction was announced, the StudentAid.gov website went down for several hours. This is likely due to the fact that developers and IT support staff were among those affected by layoffs.
Trump has said that the Department of Education should not be managing student loans and that the responsibility for this task should be handed off to another agency. He also signed an Executive Order to limit the terms of Student Loan Forgiveness, rendering some who undertook student loan debt under the presumption of this arrangement suddenly ineligible. However, this requires Congressional approval and does not yet affect borrowers. But with Republicans controlling the White House, Senate, and House, the possibility certainly remains.
ED funds Title I schools
Title I schools are determined based on U.S. Census Bureau poverty estimates, and funds are allocated to school districts to ensure low-income students receive a fair, equitable and quality education.
About 63% of public schools and 62% of public charter schools are eligible for Title I, though not all eligible schools participate. The number of Title I schools varies wildly by state. In Mississippi, for example, approximately 61% of students go to schools that receive Title I funding. In New Hampshire, that number is below 3%.
Title I is protected by statute: it can only be undone by Congress. Given its broad bipartisan support, immediate, sweeping changes seem unlikely. However, Project 2025, which has proven to be somewhat of a blueprint for the Trump administration, recommends phasing out the program within the next decade, replacing Title 1 funding with grants given to states.
The Department of Education funds and oversees IEPs and 504 accommodations
The ED was founded in large part to guarantee a free and appropriate K-12 education to all students, regardless of ability. Students with physical, mental, and emotional disabilities are protected by special education programs like IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) and 504 accommodations to ensure that their needs are met.
Under IDEA, children who qualify will be given an Individual Education Plan (IEP), outlining specialized personal education goals and necessary services to enable them to learn and thrive at school.
A 504 accommodation is outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act that allows for accommodations to support learning and health. This can take the form of, for example, extra time on tests for students with ADHD or occupational therapy for students with amblyopia. (There are many disabilities protected by Section 504, from anxiety to diabetes, cancer to visual impairments.)
The Department supports these programs not only through federal oversight but will also provide funding for things like student aids, district therapists, and more. Spending on special education programs in 2024 came to more than $20 billion.
As with Title I, these programs were established by Congress and, therefore, cannot be undone except by Congress. Congress also ultimately controls how the Department money is spent. However, the Department of Education does propose how to allocate its budget. During Trump’s last presidency, for example, sweeping cuts and reallocation of funds were proposed by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
Ultimately, Congress denied these proposals, and at the moment, both IDEA and Section 504 enjoy bipartisan support. That said, Section 504 is currently being challenged in the lawsuit Texas v. Becerra, which could indicate a changing tide among Republicans. As with Title I, Project 2025 suggests no-strings-attached grants in lieu of these programs, giving HHS the power of oversight until phasing them out entirely.
There’s a lot we still don’t know
This administration, and its various shakeups in the name of efficiency, is yet in its infancy.
Already, officials appear to be testing the extent of executive reach and power to reactions of both acquiescence and pushback from both sides of the aisle. The specifics of what the Department of Education will look like moving forward, up to and including its very existence, remains to be seen.
