President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to close the federal Department of Education, coming a step closer to fulfilling a campaign promise to eliminate what has been a cabinet-level agency for the past 45 years.
Even though it will take a vote of Congress to actually shutter the department, Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon have been dismantling the agency from within, particularly through job cuts, including the elimination of 1,950 jobs, nearly half its workforce.
But what would happen, especially in Pennsylvania, if the department does indeed close as Trump wants? Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about that possibility.
Why does Trump want to dismantle the Department of Education?
Trump characterizes the U.S. Department of Education as a bloated agency that is ill-equipped to handle certain responsibilities, such as managing a massive student loan portfolio. He also says the nation’s public schools are failing students and calls for “returning education to the states.”
However, the federal agency has little influence over what happens in the classroom. It doesn’t set curriculum or academic standards, is not the main source of funding for public schools and doesn’t determine teacher qualifications.
States and local districts already handle these duties.
Can Trump get rid of the Department of Education?
Trump needs congressional approval to eliminate the agency, and Republican lawmakers would likely get pushback from constituents who want to keep it. However, he has been drastically downsizing the department and can shift certain functions to other parts of government.
For instance, Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump’s term, suggested moving civil rights enforcement into the Justice Department and putting the health and human services agency in charge of funding for students with disabilities.
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and President Donald Trump appear Thursday during the signing event for an executive order to shut down the Department of Education in the East Room at the White House.
Will my child’s curriculum change?
Not as a result of changes to or the elimination of the Department of Education. States are empowered to establish curriculum for school districts. However, Trump has threatened to withhold federal funding for K-12 schools that do not adhere to an executive order titled “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling.”
How much money does the federal government spend on education in Pennsylvania? What about my child’s school district?
Each year, the U.S. Department of Education sends Pennsylvania about $1.6 billion for education, including $762 million for Title I programs. Title I is a federal program that awards funding to school districts with a high percentage of low-income students. Local taxes cover 53% of a school district’s expenses, with 36% coming from the state and 11% coming for the federal government.
To find annual financial report data for an individual school district, visit the Pennsylvania Department of Education website at tinyurl.com/3nd9khk8.
Does this affect the National School Lunch Program?
The program is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, so any changes to the Department of Education, including its elimination, won’t affect the program.
However, the Trump administration has been making cuts to other food programs administered by the USDA that benefit schools, including the Local Food for Schools Program, which gave states money to buy fresh, nutritious and non-processed foods from local farmers. That program was eliminated as part of a $1 billion spending cut at the department.
More: $1 billion cut from USDA food programs. What it means for Pa. schools, food banks
What happens with student loans and Pell grants?
More than 1.86 million Pennsylvanians are carrying a cumulative $67.5 billion in federal student debt.
Pennsylvanians also get higher education assistance in the form of Pell grants, or federal aid designated for lower-income students. In the 2023-2024 academic year, more than 216,000 Pennsylvanians received Pell grants, with an average award of about $4,900 a person, according to the Education Data Initiative.
However, the Trump administration said dismantling the education department would not mean the end of student aid. His spokeswoman told reporters the agency would, for the time being, continue overseeing the loan portfolio and Pell grants.
Still, in his executive order, Trump said the education department “is not a bank” and must ultimately “return bank functions to an entity equipped to serve America’s students.” On Friday, he announced that management of federal student loans would shift to the Small Business Administration.
What are Pennsylvania teachers saying?
The Pennsylvania State Education Association, the commonwealth’s largest teachers’ union, views the executive order as a threat to the roughly $1.6 billion in federal funding to the Keystone State’s public schools. Without this money, they estimate about 7,000 Pennsylvania teachers and support professionals would lose their jobs.
“This isn’t about reforming how government works,” Aaron Chapin, PSEA president and a middle school teacher in the Stroudsburg Area School District, said in a prepared statement. “It is about dismantling public education as we know it, putting teachers and support staff out of jobs and giving up on a generation of students.”
Bethany Rodgers and Matthew Rink are investigative reporters for the USA TODAY Network in Pennsylvania.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Trump signs executive order to close Education Department: FAQ
