Dismantling The U S Department Of Education What To Know

With the Trump administration forging ahead on the president’s pledge to gut the federal agency, states and schools from elementary through postsecondary education are bracing for disruptions to funding and programs. Photo credit: U.S. Department of Education/Flickr/CC BY 4.0 President Donald Trump’s pledge to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education took another big leap forward on Nov. 18, with the announcement that the bulk of existing programs – from K-12 through postsecondary – would be parceled out to other federal agencies.

The move is part of the Trump administration’s plan to “return education to the states,” a phrase The Washington Post’s Laura Meckler (among others) argues is a misnomer. Take a look at Education Week’s handy guide to discover where existing programs are being moved (K-12 and college programs to the Department of Labor, for example). The Hechinger Report is also tracking President Trump’s orders on education issues more broadly. The Guardian has reported on the difficulty of working at the education department and the low morale there in the wake of this and other efforts to dismantle the department this year. There’s been no announcement yet on where special education programs would land, if they’re moved at all. See the Education Writers Association’s Q&A with the executive director of the nonprofit advocacy organization Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) for more on the special education ramifications.

The U.S. Department of Education building is photographed in Washington, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) WASHINGTON (AP) — The Education Department is breaking off several of its main offices and giving their responsibilities to other federal agencies, an early look at how President Donald Trump could fulfill his campaign... Offices that serve the nation’s schools and colleges would go to departments ranging from Labor to Interior.

Education officials say the moves won’t affect the money Congress gives states, schools and colleges. They didn’t say whether current department staff would keep their jobs. Since he took office, Trump has called for the dismantling of the Education Department, saying it has been overrun by liberal thinking. Agency leaders have been making plans to parcel out its operations to other departments, and in July the Supreme Court upheld mass layoffs that halved the department’s staff. In recent days, Education Secretary Linda McMahon has started a public campaign for the end of her department, making the case on social media that Education’s grantmaking and question-answering functions could be better handled... On the Tuesday, December 2, 2025 episode of The Excerpt podcast: Trump’s latest Education Department moves target some of the agency's most important programs.

From Title I to special education to student aid, we break down what’s moving, what’s staying and what the changes mean for millions of students. Zach Schermele joins USA TODAY's The Excerpt to unpack it all. Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text. Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here

President Donald Trump's quest to dismantle the Department of Education went into high gear late last month, with six interagency agreements that redistributed longstanding functional areas of the department. Well, Congress finally caved in and let Trump abolish the ED. Hello and welcome to USA Today's The Excerpt. I'm Dana Taylor. Today is Tuesday, December 2nd, 2025. Here to help me dig into all of the changes at the Education Department, now joined by USA Today Congress reporter, Zach Schermele.

Thanks so much for coming back, Zach. While only Congress can completely act as a federal agency, the Supreme Court has allowed the White House to move forward for now with mass education department layoffs. Walk me through the latest changes. U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon has said she wants to "peel back the layers of federal bureaucracy." Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption The Trump administration unveiled a sweeping plan Tuesday to sidestep Congress and outsource large pieces of the U.S.

Department of Education, telling lawmakers and staff that it would shift work dedicated to, among other things, elementary and secondary education, postsecondary education and Indian education to other federal agencies. All three of those offices were originally placed at the department by Congress when it created the agency in 1979, and these moves are being made without Congress' consent. According to two people who were briefed on the plan by the Trump administration, and who asked not to be named for fear of retribution, the administration has forged six new agreements between the... For example, under these new agreements, much of the work of the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, which includes managing Title I, a key federal funding stream that helps schools support low-income students,... Department of Labor, as would much of the work of the Office of Postsecondary Education. The move inches Trump closer to his goal of shuttering the department.

The Department of Education on Tuesday announced six interagency agreements that would transfer some of its offices to other government agencies. The moves mark a "major step forward" in downsizing the department and returning education to the states, a senior department official said. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon touted the "bold action" her agency is taking to accomplish the mission of putting herself out of a job. "Cutting through layers of red tape in Washington is one essential piece of our final mission," McMahon wrote in a statement. "As we partner with these agencies to improve federal programs, we will continue to gather best practices in each state through our 50-state tour, empower local leaders in K-12 education, restore excellence to higher... Together, we will refocus education on students, families, and schools -- ensuring federal taxpayer spending is supporting a world-class education system.”

Under the agreements, the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education’s programs as well as sections of the Office of Postsecondary Education, including higher education grant programs and institution-based grant programs, will be co-managed by... The Department of Education on Tuesday announced a further dismantling of the agency by transferring much of its remaining workload to other federal agencies in a bid to convince Congress the department is no... Under an interagency agreement, six offices will be moved to partner with four other agencies – the departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, Interior and State, according to a news release. The move comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March to begin dismantling the Education Department, seeking to fulfill decades of conservative ambition to get rid of the agency. While eliminating the department requires approval from Congress, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon has sought workarounds to shutter the agency, including cutting nearly half of its staff earlier this year. Officials at the Department of Education indicated that the changes announced Tuesday are intended in part to demonstrate to Congress — and ultimately convince lawmakers — that the department is not needed.

“We look forward to having these as proof points for success and what education can look like without the Department of Education building,” another official at the agency said. Sign up for Chalkbeat’s free weekly newsletter to keep up with how education is changing across the U.S. The U.S. Education Department is moving management of K-12 and higher education to the Department of Labor and parceling out other job duties to other federal agencies in the most sweeping effort so far to dismantle... The Education Department announced the changes Tuesday, describing them as fulfilling President Donald Trump’s promise to “return education to the states.” Management of both the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Office of Postsecondary Education will be moved to the Department of Labor, which oversees workforce development programs and protects workers’ rights, among...

The Office of Elementary and Secondary Education oversees major federal funding streams such as Title I, which provides $18 billion a year for high-poverty schools, as well as teacher training programs, support for English...

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