President Trump has begun dismantling the Department of Education, transferring student loans and social programs to other federal departments in a bid to return control to states and parents.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump announced Friday the first major steps in his plan to dismantle the federal Department of Education, revealing that several of its responsibilities will be reassigned to other federal agencies. Trump said that student loan oversight will be transferred “immediately” to the Small Business Administration (SBA), while special needs and nutrition programs will move to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The announcement follows an executive order signed Thursday to formally begin the dismantling of the Department of Education.
“I think that will work out very well,” Trump stated during the press event. “Those two elements will be taken out of the Department of Education.” He emphasized the role of parents in educational decisions, adding, “All we have to do is get the students to get guidance from the people that love them and cherish them, including their parents.”
Trump’s executive order, titled “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities,” directs newly-confirmed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take all lawful steps to shut down the agency and restore educational authority to states and local governments. According to the order, McMahon is tasked with “facilitating the closure of the Department of Education and returning authority over education to the States and local communities.”
The move is rooted in longstanding conservative criticism that the federal education agency has failed to meet its core mission of improving academic outcomes. According to a January report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), student test scores have reached historic lows, with one-third of eighth graders failing to meet the reading benchmark in 2024—the highest failure rate ever recorded. Additionally, 40% of fourth graders tested below reading proficiency levels, the worst outcome since 2002.
Much of the department’s criticism stems from its emphasis on social initiatives rather than academics. During the Biden administration, the Department of Justice invested over $100 million into diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, as well as restorative justice initiatives for K-12 education, with funding directed at promoting LGBTQ inclusion and embedding “anti-racism and anti-oppression” principles in classrooms.
Upon taking office, Trump moved swiftly to eliminate these initiatives from schools that receive federal funding. Through executive action, he banned critical race theory, DEI policies, and gender ideology in education, reversing policies implemented under Biden’s administration. These actions came in response to Biden-era mandates and policies—many of which were overseen by former Education Secretary Miguel Cardona—that had introduced controversial topics into federally funded educational institutions.
Trump’s decision to begin the dismantling of the Department of Education marks a significant shift in federal education policy, aiming to decentralize authority and emphasize parental involvement and local control over the nation’s schools.
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