The potential impacts of closing the Department of Education, explained

Key points

• U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on March 20, 2025, aimed at shutting down the Department of Education. While he cannot fully abolish the agency without an act of Congress, he can gut its operations.
• It's still uncertain what Trump's plans look like for a country without a federal education agency. The Department of Education's role is primarily to handle federal finances for education programs. However, experts say that this decision does not affect financial support for federal programs providing services to disadvantaged students, such as those with disabilities or at high-poverty schools.
• While the Trump administration has promised to preserve these popular federal programs, the ability for the government to operate the programs in question may be affected by efforts to diminish or dismantle the Department of Education. Both Democrats and Republicans have called into question the ability of other agencies to handle the department's responsibilities, and staff cuts to the department already are affecting student access to financial aid.
• Advocates and experts are also concerned about the potential effects of losing the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights. After the administration reportedly cut staff at the office as part of its wider Department of Education cuts, the American Civil Liberties Union warned "gutting the OCR severely weakens federal civil rights enforcement, leaving millions of students without crucial protections against discrimination."