Erica Meltzer

President Trump said he would move oversight of services for students with disabilities to Health and Human Services. Advocates worry the agency doesn’t have the staff or expertise to handle the change.

School boards are political war zones, technology is everywhere, and school feels optional. One student said the pandemic's fallout left kids “without the tools to cope.”

Officially abolishing the agency requires an act of Congress. But a directive from the president could still play havoc with schools and federal programs.

Trump’s education secretary said the department’s role “is to restore the rightful role of state oversight in education and to end the overreach from Washington.” It’s unclear how well that strategy will match the administration’s approach to civil rights, curriculum, and more.

Now confirmed as education secretary, McMahon has promised not to make drastic cuts to education funding. But DOGE and President Donald Trump’s stated intention to gut the department could give the former pro wrestling executive a slippery problem to grapple with.

A Dear Colleague letter threatened the federal funding of schools with a wide range of DEI practices.

Chris Rufo tagged DOGE on examples of 'left-wing ideologies' in education. Within a day, millions in grants had been terminated.

Legal experts said an Education Department letter goes much further than the actual law in limiting how schools and colleges can consider race. Common practices that are part of diversity initiatives could be targeted.

Trump can’t end the Education Department by himself. Yet moves by DOGE to cut its funding and his assault on the federal bureaucracy could preview attempts to reduce its reach.

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