What Does the US Dept. of Education DO — And Why Does it Matter?
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has made moves to dismantle the US Dept. of Education. The newly confirmed US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon called doing so the “final mission” of the department on her very first day. But what does the department actually do, and how would shutting it down impact American students? Read on to find out more.
What Does the Dept. of Ed Do?
The Department of Education was created in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter. Its primary function is to ensure schools across the country are following federal education laws passed by Congress, and to administer federal dollars to schools across the country in accordance with the law. These dollars are sent out to states in the form of grants and specifically allocated based on laws passed by Congress — for example, funds for disabled students under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), for low-income students under Title I, for schools under desegregation orders, for homeless students, and for Native American students.
The department oversees programs addressing special education, English language learning, school meals, and education for disadvantaged students, protecting educational equity and providing federal support for schools serving vulnerable populations. It also collects critical data on schools across the states, conducts important research, and identifies major educational issues.
Contrary to misinformation, the Dept. of Education is not involved in setting curriculum or state testing. States are responsible for deciding what teachers teach, how students are assessed, and what programs are offered — not the federal government. Dismantling the department will instead create an inefficient and inequitable patchwork system across the states, with some states protecting the rights of students and ensuring funding for the vulnerable, and some states passing highly discriminatory policies and funding models.
How would Closing the Dept. of Ed Impact Arizona Students & Schools?
Closing the Dept. of Education would jeopardize $2.8 billion in Congressionally protected federal funding for Arizona students each year. Any loss of funding would harm Arizona’s 1 million public school students across the state, especially low-income, disabled, and rural students, first and worst.
Project 2025 proposes phasing out federal funding for schools over 10 years. The Trump administration has proposed reverting these funds to “block grants,” which are discretionary pots of funding; Trump has said these funds need to be “returned to the states,” which simply means state bodies would determine how to allocate them. For example, if a state’s schools were previously receiving $300 million in federal funding that was legally designated by Congress for students with disabilities, a state could reduce that earmark to $100 million, redirecting $200 million to private school vouchers. These block grants would likely be overseen by the legislature or the Arizona Dept. of Education, which both have a history of prioritizing funding for vouchers over public schools. In fact, Supt. Tom Horne has already staked his claim that he should be in charge of the allocation of any federal funds “returned” to the state.
Dismantling the Dept. of Education would also jeopardize legal protections for students, especially students with disabilities who rely on federal rights to ensure they receive the academic supports and accommodations they need. Without these protections, families would lose legal recourse and assistance.
What has the Trump administration done so far?
On March 20, 2025, President Trump, fulfilling his campaign promises and the directives of Project 2025, signed an executive order to dismantle the US Department of Education, which serves and protects 50 million K-12 students nationwide.
The next day, Trump announced he would be putting Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in charge of special education services, saying he would “be handling special needs and all of the nutrition programs and everything else… Those two elements will be taken out of the Department of Education, and then all we have to do is get the students to get guidance from the people that love them and cherish them.” RFK Jr. heads the Department of Health and Human Services and lacks any education credentials.
Shutting down the Dept. of Education or reallocating federal funding requires an act of Congress. Trump’s executive order to unilaterally close the department is unlawful and is already being litigated in three separate lawsuits submitted by a coalition of attorneys general from 21 states, including Arizona’s AG Kris Mayes, by the American Federation of Teachers, and by the NAACP, Education Law Center, and the National Education Association.
The Trump administration has also made massive cuts and layoffs in the US Dept. of Education — stifling its ability to support public schools and our students. Many of those laid off are lawyers who oversee and protect the civil rights of America’s students. Others run programs to fund school meals, after-school tutoring, and critical programs like IDEA for students with disabilities and Title I for low-income students. After Trump’s layoffs, only 5 of the agency’s civil rights offices remain nationwide. Those still with the department say it will now be “virtually impossible” to resolve discrimination complaints. These moves will gut resources that help students learn and strip teachers of necessary funding. AZ Attorney General Kris Mayes joined a lawsuit with 21 Democratic attorneys general who sued the Trump administration over these “illegal and unconstitutional” dismissals.
Despite pending litigation, the administration’s actions will impose uncertainty and chaos upon our school leaders as they make funding decisions and issue contracts for the next school year.
The Real Plan? Privatization of Public Education
Public education is the bedrock of our communities and the cornerstone of our democracy. Trump and the billionaires pushing to privatize our public schools know this. We’ve seen this playbook before: block grants voucherize funding, allowing politicians to slash public education funding while diverting federal funds to private schools with no accountability. Block grants will defund public education and leave struggling schools even worse off, depriving students — especially those in underfunded urban, rural, and suburban communities — of the support they need to succeed.