Rather, the draft calls on Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps” to facilitate the closure of the department “to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law.”
Officials including McMahon have suggested that might include trying to shift some of the agency’s functions to other parts of government — though that would also face legal hurdles because the agency’s major programs are assigned by law to the Education Department.
End of carousel
More likely is a continuation of what has already begun at the agency: deep cuts to staff, programs and grants. The department has already warned of a “very significant” reduction in force, or RIF, in the short term.
The draft was labeled “predecisional.” One person familiar with the matter confirmed that the draft was legitimate but cautioned that its details could change before it is issued. The White House declined to comment.
The department administers federal grant programs, including the $18.4 billion Title I program that provides supplemental funding to high-poverty K-12 schools, as well as the $15.5 billion program that helps cover the cost of education for students with disabilities. The department also oversees the $1.6 trillion federal student loan program and sets rules for what colleges must do to participate.
The executive order is cast as returning power over education to states and local communities, which Trump has repeatedly promised to do. It does not recognize that K-12 education, as well as public universities and colleges, are already controlled almost entirely by states and local communities. The federal government, by law, may not control school curriculum.
Trump suggests the federal government is doing too much on education, but he has also demanded it do more. The executive order is expected to amplify Trump’s call for schools to excise “illegal discrimination” in the guise of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs or risk losing federal money, which accounts for about 10 percent of K-12 public school dollars and a significant share of higher-education funding.
