When it comes to American education, the Department of Education is the federal agency responsible for overseeing the K-12 education system. Its main purposes include the distribution of funds approved by the United States Congress to students and schools, and aiding many elementary and secondary schools, as well as colleges and universities, with all of their government-approved needs. 

Founded and established in 1980 by the 39th U.S. President Jimmy Carter (1924-2025), he made it a crucial part of his legacy to move away from the traditional education associations which existed at the time, and instead, push for an entire federal department whose whole purpose was to promise and make education better for all K-12 students, and beyond. And in the 45 years since its establishment, the Department of Education has changed American education for the better in many ways. However, it has also had its issues along the way. And now, it faces an uncertain future. 

The 45th and 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump, has made it one of his more professional goals for his second administration, and, unlike anything any previous administrations have done before, has decided to abolish and call for a termination of the department, which would end about forty-five years of service to the United States. Famous businessman and technology billionaire turned Senior Adviser to the President, Elon Musk, has already stated in one of his statements as head of the Trump-funded Department of Government Efficacy (DOGE) that the department “no longer exists”. 

While previous administrations, such as the George W. Bush administration (2001-2009), have made their criticism regarding the Department of Education, no one called for its complete abolishment and termination until now.

So why does Trump want to do this? The short answer: it’s all connected to the professional and financial results. The United States Department of Education is responsible for overseeing thousands of student loans, federal funds for lower-income students, education programs for special needs students, and many others. They also provide school-based lunches, all paid for by the government. The many needs and contracts totaled up to over 900 million dollars. 

Donald Trump and Elon Musk have already begun crafting plans and legislation to close the department. In addition, Trump has also looked at the education systems in numerous other countries. So, how and why did this happen? How did we go from having a president who created a whole federal department to make education better forty years back, to having one of the lowest-ranked education systems in the world? Short answer: everything’s way too expensive.

Right now, education in the United States has been trying to rebuild as we are halfway through the 2020s. But what problems do we have? Unfortunately, in recent years, K-12 test scores and the ranking of America’s education system have hit an all-time record low, particularly during the Biden administration (2021-2025). A crucial factor that could have led us here is overtesting. These days, many public and private middle and high schools have conducted a mass increase in overtesting of their students, particularly with unnecessary quizzes, tests, and state tests for numerous subjects, such as math, English, and science. 

It goes back to the early 2000s, when President George W. Bush passed the No Child Left Behind Act. Intended to be a major education reform bill, it called for increasing standardized testing, which contributes to the overtesting we have had in recent years. Under the Department of Education, states must continue to annual nationwide tests in reading/math/and science, under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) section of the department, and now, K-12 test scores have hit an all-time low. During his administration, Biden attempted to come up with new plans to stop the declining test scores, but many of his attempts failed, which led us to where we are today. The fact is, many school districts fail to understand that students are mentally pressured and affected by test anxiety due to the constant increase in tests, given by teachers and districts who need to show effective results, and things are only getting worse. 

Another factor in why Trump wants to close the Department of Education is the expenses that come with American students getting a good education. Some feel the Department of Education comes with too much government spending. 

American students have extreme difficulty in achieving their dreams and getting into the colleges that they want and will have the best futures in due to the ridiculous tuition costs, and being forced to work hard in part and even full-time jobs while balancing their educations so that they can have their college education and even pay for it at the same time. While the Department of Education is responsible for providing student loans and debt relief, the fact is, the numbers and rise of tuition show that this department is doing whatever it takes to solve the problem, but is ultimately also the one creating it. And even today, we ranked lowest, number 40 of the top 40 nations in terms of education. President Trump refuses to allow this to continue any further. A huge part of Donald Trump’s Project 2025 and Agenda 47 agendas was to close the department, stating that “The Department of Education is no longer what it used to be. We now have the worst education system in the world. “The department has since been hijacked, and taken over by radicals, zealots, and Marxists”. “It also wastes a lot of taxpayer money”. 

So even though Donald Trump can’t outright destroy an entire federal department, at least not without the approval of the United States Congress, he and his cabinet are working hard to cook up a plan that he hopes Congress will approve of during their upcoming Senate hearings. So what is Trump’s ultimate plan for education? Here it is: move it back to the states. 

But can this actually work? Let’s run it down. If we abolish the department and return control of education back to the states, then we would be allowing teachers and schools to focus on academics on their own terms, and not simply be focused on meeting the quotas and restrictions imposed by the federal departments. Without federal mandates, public and private schools could begin work on simpler approaches, without so many tests, and could begin preparing more reasonable tuition for colleges and universities within their own states and jurisdictions. 

In addition, no federal mandates could allow schools to allow students to pick their own programs to learn, and give them more freedom and flexibility to learn according to their own needs. President Trump’s goal is to fund the students and not the systems. His plan wants to direct education dollars to families, ensuring parents can choose the best option for their children, and worry about aspects aside from the ridiculousness of financial tuition.

Under state control, even lower-income students and their families would all have the same access to the education that higher-income and even wealthier students and their families would have. They wouldn’t be pressured by the mandates and financial costs that come from having the Department of Education responsible for overseeing the schools in the United States. 

Donald Trump’s proposal to dismantle the Department of Education is a bold but necessary response to decades of federal overreach. By restoring local control, reducing bureaucracy, empowering school choice, and realigning education with traditional values, this vision offers a pathway to a more effective and responsive system. 

It won’t be easy because of all of the activists, and plenty of people, including many from Congress, but it might be the only way that we can save future generations from being burdened by the pressures of pointless tests and high tuition. Trump’s plan seeks to return to this proven method. For those who don’t want to put their education in the hands of the federal government, Trump’s vision represents a turning point: a chance to create an education system that works for all Americans. Currently, Donald Trump and his Cabinet are preparing an executive order to have the department shut down and authorize state control, and only time will tell how things change after that.

One last thing to remember: Up until 40 years ago, there was no federal education department, and education was thriving during that time.