Executive Order
Asserting that “the experiment of controlling American education through Federal programs and dollars” has “plainly failed our children,” on March 20, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order directing Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities.”
President Trump summarized the Order as follows: “We’re going to shut it down, and shut it down as quickly as possible.”
This message seems to contradict previous Administration promises to continue to deliver on “all statutory programs that fall under the agency’s purview, including formula finding, student loans, Pell Grants, funding for special needs students, and competitive grantmaking,” which promises were echoed in Secretary McMahon’s recent statement: “we will continue to support K-12 students, students with special needs, college student borrowers, and others who rely on essential programs.”
The Order is also self-contradictory in that it directs the Secretary to take the required steps “to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law,” and in a manner that ensures “the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.” Neither the President nor the Secretary are authorized by law to close the Department of Education, a Congressionally-created statutory agency.
Ongoing Efforts to Weaken the U.S. Department of Education
The U.S. Department of Education’s primary role is to distribute money to college students through grants and loans; more than 70% of the Department’s $224 billion annual budget goes to the federal student aid program. The Department also funds various programs intended to assist low-income and disabled students, and enforces federal anti-discrimination laws through its Office for Civil Rights. The Executive Order is one in a series of actions taken by the Trump Administration to weaken the Department’s ability to fulfill these roles.
On March 11, a “reduction in force” cut the Department’s workforce by nearly 50%, from 4,133 to roughly 2,183. The Administration has also cut the capacity of Federal Student Aid to handle student complaints, and indicated that it may transition responsibility for funding for students with disabilities from the Department of Education to the Department of Health and Human Services. And on March 21, President Trump confirmed his intent to move the federal student loan portfolio from the Education Department to the Small Business Administration.
The ultimate impact of these efforts is currently unclear, although it seems likely that federal funding may be delayed and that students and parents will see a corresponding reduction in public schools’ ability to provide services. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) described the Executive Order as “code red for every public school student, parent, and teacher in this country,” predicting that critical school programs will end, and that class sizes will increase. News agencies have reported that Department employees believe it is unlikely that the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) will be able to get money to schools for the 2026-2027 school year. And Democratic Senators have warned that the dismantling of the federal student loan complaint process will “hurt parents trying to understand how to submit FAFSA correctly . . . veterans whose loan repayment status has been processed incorrectly due to their deployment, and students whose aid is being improperly withheld by predatory for-profit schools,” and also will impair the government’s ability to crack down on student loan scams.
Legal Action in Response
The American Federation of Teachers and other groups filed suit on March 24, seeking legal recourse in response to the Executive Order. This represents yet another legal battle for the Administration– on March 13, a group of attorney generals representing 20 states and the District of Columbia sued to stop the personnel cuts at the Department, arguing that the massive reduction in force “is equivalent to incapacitating key, statutorily-mandated functions of the Department,” and outside the Secretary’s authority because she is “not permitted to eliminate or disrupt functions required by statute, nor can she transfer the Department’s responsibilities to another agency outside of its statutory authorization."
That suit was not the first time a group of states collaborated on a legal filing asserting that the Trump Administration exceeded its legal authority – in February, 22 states filed a complaint raising similar allegations with regard to funding cuts at the National Institutes of Health.
The future of the Department of Education remains uncertain, and will depend in part on the outcome of the litigation described above. Contact a member of the Brooks Pierce Education Law Team for guidance on navigating this evolving landscape: Jill Wilson; Elizabeth Troutman; Claire O’Brien; Collins Saint.
This Alert provides an update on a legal development. It is not intended as legal advice. For further assistance, please reach out to a member of the Brooks Pierce Education Law Team.