President Donald Trump issued an executive order last Thursday that directs the education secretary to begin dismantling the department. The department’s dissolution was a key campaign promise of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.
“The Department of Education burdens schools with regulations and paperwork,” the order said. “Its ‘Dear Colleague’ letters have forced schools to redirect resources toward complying with ideological initiatives, which diverts staff time and attention away from schools’ primary role of teaching.”
Cierra Gilliam, a senior majoring in news media, said that she believes that the department’s dismantling is a reflection of the state of the country.
“With it being not even 50 years old, it says a lot about how quickly we can go back to living in the dark times of our past,” she said. “They are trying to divide us and slowly but surely limit our education so that they can have as many people as possible naive and drinking the Kool-Aid of oppression that they are dishing out.”
The department provides various forms of financial aid for students and sets policies for national education standards and civil rights investigations. It also works to solve issues regarding education through research and data collection. According to USAFacts, the ED spent $268 billion in 2024.
“I’m not opposed to trimming back the Department of Education,” said Rebecca Collins, a special education teacher at Etowah High School in Woodstock, Georgia. “I believe that there is a lot of bureaucracy that can be trimmed back.”
The order also said that Trump “has outlined a bold vision for America’s schools and returning education back to the states.”
Katie Britt, junior U.S. senator for Alabama, supported the order, saying “ Educational decisions should be made at the most local level possible—starting with parents” on X. “Educational freedom opens the door to the American Dream nationwide. Let’s make America the envy of the world again when it comes to education,” Britt said.
“The federal government doesn’t belong in the classroom, plain and simple, said Tommy Tuberville, senior U.S. senator for Alabama on X. “Promises made, promises kept.”
Ellie First, a graduate student studying advertising and public relations, said she believes dismantling the ED takes away “essential services” and funding from “underprivileged schools and communities,” and that executive order was an act of “government overreach.”
“Things that are important are actually what’s being affected now, not the things that he claims to be shutting it down for,” she said.
Certain functions of the Department, including managing student loans and federal grants for students with disabilities, will be assigned to existing agencies. The ED Office of Special Education Programs also provides care and opportunities, including financial support, for Americans with disabilities from birth until age 21.
“I would not want to see special education services, IDEA or 504 services removed from federal protection, as those are special populations,” Collins said. “Returning decisions to the states that are not in Article 1 of the Constitution is a step in the right direction.”
Alex House, associate director of media relations for the University said the University “remains sharply focused on continuing our important mission of teaching, research and service.” According to the UA 2023-24 Annual Financial Report, the University received $143 million in federal grants and contracts in 2024.
“We have to do better,” Gilliam said. “I urge people, especially young people, to go out and vote, own copies of these books that are being banned, and remember that knowledge and education is a powerful thing.”
