The Department was founded in 1980 under President Jimmy Carter. One year later, Ronald Reagan began his first term.
His administration tried to dismantle it but was not successful. Now with Trump in the White House, could success be around the corner?
AFN posed the question to Jonathan Butcher, the Will Skillman Senior Research Fellow in Education Policy, for the Heritage Foundation.
"So, President Trump has the authority, with executive order, to begin the process of directing both the Secretary of Education, when that secretary is approved of course, and Congress to consider legislation and make a priority the closing of the entire agency,” Butcher said.
It will take more than Trump’s penmanship to close the doors at the DOE.
While its fate remains uncertain, another department, the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, has set about making cuts to the DOE.
DOGE slashing begins
Monday DOGE announced the termination of 89 contracts worth $881 million. It has also ended 29 DEI training grants totaling $101 million.
“Ultimately, closing the entire department is going to take a legislative act, or more than one, but I think that the president appears to be serious about this issue, and there are things that he can do immediately in terms of closing down parts of the department that won't need legislation,” Butcher said.
So what even is the problem with having a national Department of Education? Well, it's just that: It's national. Trump wants the power over education to go back to the states. With a national Department of Education, whatever the department says, every government-funded school must obey.
That means if it chooses, the government can mandate a certain method of teaching or push ideology on the entire school system. The most recent example is gender ideology moving in under the Biden Administration. Giving control of education back to the individual states checks the government's power.
"So, in terms of legislation, there are actually proposals that are out there already to wind down the department. Some are longer and more detailed than others. I think there's one that is about one line that says the Department of Education will close as of a certain date,” Butcher said.
Some other proposals are “consistent with Heritage proposals” that would move certain offices elsewhere in the executive branch or into other agencies, Butcher said.
The leader of a national parents group likes what she’s seeing in the Trump administration’s approach to education.
"I'm going to give him an A grade," Nicki Neily, founder and president of Parents Defending Education told the Washington Watch program Tuesday. "This is not grading on a curve, this is not doing equitable grading, this is just promises made, promises kept. We’re really excited to see what the next four years are going to be like."
Democrats are not happy with the Trump administration, saying spending cuts and plans to eliminate the Department of Education are going to harm students. Many of them even took time this week to try to get into the DOE offices to share their two cents about Musk and what DOGE will do to things such as education.
Neily told show host Tony Perkins it's nice to see Democrats finally care about education.
"I was in the House Education Committee on Wednesday testifying and a lot of those members were not
there, so the fact that this is now on their radar shows that at least something is breaking through and Elon has their attention," she said. "There is so much garbage in that Department of Education budget; They have been focusing for the past four years, and frankly much longer, on everything except for educating our children and keeping them safe."
A long-time discussion
Butcher added he thinks President Trump has some excellent priorities in mind and that getting rid of the Ed Department has been talked about now for about 40 years.
That it’s been discussed for so long yet remains active suggests the challenge Trump faces in shutting it down.
“It’s essential to remember that the ultimate objectives of the Department of Education, assimilating students, closing achievement gaps, protecting civil rights, I mean, the agency has failed across the board on these issues, right? Student achievement is at historic lows."
Losing the DOE for the sake of more decisions by states and their local districts would be a big gain for the educational experience, Butcher said.
“As long as we stay, of course, within the bounds of the Constitution, regardless of the method, doing away with the agency is essential so that local school leaders and state legislators and parents have more authority and more autonomy over the children under their care."
