Throughout his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump railed against the federal Department of Education, describing it as being infiltrated by “radicals, zealots and Marxists.”
They have tapped former wrestling executive Linda McMahon to lead the department. But like many conservative politicians before him, Trump has called for eliminating the department entirely — a cumbersome task that would likely require action from Congress.
The main role of the agency is financial. Annually, it distributes billions in federal money to colleges and schools and manages the federal student loan portfolio. Closing the department would mean reallocating each of these duties to another agency. The Department of Education also plays an important regulatory role in services for students, from those with disabilities to low-income and homeless children.
Indeed, federal education money is central to Trump’s plans for colleges and schools. Trump has vowed to cut federal funding to schools and colleges that promote “critical ideology, transgender bigotry, and other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content” and to reward states and schools What are those that end teacher tenure and implement universal school choice programs?
Federal funding makes up a relatively small portion of public school budgets—about 14%. Colleges and universities rely heavily on it, through research grants as well as federal financial aid that helps students pay their tuition.
Here’s a look at some of the department’s key functions, and how Trump has said he might approach them.
Student loans and financial aid
The Department of Education administers approximately $1.5 trillion in student loans to more than 40 million borrowers. It also oversees the Pell Grant, which provides aid to students below a certain income threshold, and administers the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which universities use to allocate financial aid. are
The Biden administration has made student loan cancellation a signature effort of the department’s work. Since Biden’s initial attempt to cancel student loans was rejected by the Supreme Court, the administration has provided more than $175 billion to more than 4.8 million borrowers through a range of changes to programs such as public service loan forgiveness. I have forgiven.
Debt relief efforts have faced Republican pushback, including lawsuits from several GOP-led states.
Trump has criticized Biden’s efforts to cancel the debt as illegal and unfair, calling it a “total disaster” that “insulted young people.” Trump’s plan for student loans is uncertain: He hasn’t laid out detailed plans.
Enforcement of civil rights
Through its Office of Civil Rights, the Department of Education conducts research and issues guidance on how civil rights laws should be implemented, such as for LGBTQ+ students and students of color. The office also oversees a large data collection project that tracks disparities in resources, course access and discipline for students from different racial and socioeconomic groups.
Trump has proposed a different interpretation of the civil rights role of the office. In his campaign platform, he said he would “pursue civil rights cases to prevent schools from discriminating on the basis of race.” He described the diversity and equity policies in education as “clearly illegal discrimination” and said colleges using them would pay fines and have their endowments taxed.
Trump has also promised to exclude transgender students from Title IX protections, which affect school policies on students’ use of restrooms, bathrooms and locker rooms. Originally passed in 1972, Title IX was first used as a women’s rights law. This year, the Biden administration said the law prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, but Trump could overturn it.
College approval
Although the Department of Education does not directly accredit colleges and universities, it oversees the system by reviewing all federally recognized accrediting agencies. Institutions of higher education must be accredited to access federal money for student financial aid.
The endorsement came under scrutiny from conservatives in 2022, when the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools questioned political interference at Florida’s public colleges and universities. Trump has said he would fire “radical left accreditors” and take applications for new accreditors who would uphold standards, including “defending the American tradition” and removing “Marxist” diversity managers.
Although the Secretary of Education has the authority to terminate its relationship with individual accrediting agencies, this is a difficult process that is rarely followed. Under President Barack Obama, the department took steps to revoke accreditors for the now-defunct for-profit college chain, but the Trump administration blocked that move. The group, the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, was abolished by the Biden administration in 2022.
Money for schools
Much of the Department of Education’s money for K-12 schools goes through major federal programs, such as Title I for low-income schools and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. These programs support services for students with disabilities, lower class sizes with additional teaching positions, and pay for social workers and other non-teaching roles in schools.
During his campaign, Trump pushed to move these functions to the states. He did not offer details on how the agency’s core functions of sending federal money to local districts and schools would be handled.
The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, a broad proposal outlining a far-right vision for the country that overlaps in areas with Trump’s campaign, offers a blueprint. It recommends that oversight of programs for children with disabilities and low-income children be transferred first to the Department of Health and Human Services, before eventually defunding and transferring it to states with no strings attached grants. be changed to
