The US Department of Education was established in 1980 and is a cabinet-level agency of the US government. President Jimmy Carter signed the Department of Education Organization Act into law on October 17, 1979, separating the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare into the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services. The Department was established on May 4, 1980. In 1867, a previous version was established, but a year later it was swiftly demoted to the Office of Education.
The U.S. secretary of education oversees the Department of Education, which employed over 4,000 people in 2021 (the smallest of the Cabinet agencies’ staffs) and had a budget of $268 billion in 2024, up from $14 billion in 1979. In 2025, the department’s budget accounted for roughly 4% of all federal spending in the United States.
Its official acronym is ED (“DOE” stands for the United States Department of Energy), but it is also colloquially shortened to “DoEd”. The Department of Government Efficiency announced on March 11, 2025, seven weeks after Trump’s second term began, that it would be terminating almost half of its employees. On March 20, 2025, the Trump administration signed an order to close the department,but the department cannot be closed without the consent of Congress, which established it.
Purpose and functions
Four primary functions are identified by the department,
1) establishing guidelines for federal school financial aid, allocating the monies, and keeping an eye on them.
2) gathering information about American schools and sharing findings.
3) bringing important educational challenges to the attention of the country and offering suggestions for improvement.
4) preventing prejudice and guaranteeing equal educational opportunities.
The Department of Education is a member of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness and works with federal partners to provide effective education for homeless and runaway adolescents in the United States.
History
Early history
President Andrew Johnson established a Department of Education in 1867 by signing legislation. In the same manner that the Department of Agriculture assisted farmers, it was thought to be a means of gathering data and statistics on the country’s schools and offering guidance to them. Henry Barnard and the National Teachers Association’s founders first suggested the department, which was later renamed the National Education Association. The first commissioner of education was Barnard. Concerned that the agency would have too much power over local schools, he left when it was reorganized as the United States agency of Education, a division inside the Department of Interior.
Under various names and in a number of agencies, including the US Department of the Interior and the former US Department of Health Education and Welfare (DHEW), which is now the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the office stayed relatively small over the years. The Smith–Towner Bill, introduced in 1920, was a failed effort to establish a Department of Education with a secretary of education.
The bureau was moved to the Federal Security Agency in 1939 and renamed the Office of Education under the new name. “Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1953” was issued by President Dwight D. Eisenhower following World War II. The majority of the duties of the defunct Federal Security Agency were shifted to the newly established DHEW.
Promotion to department
When President Carter pushed for the creation of a cabinet-level Department of Education in 1979, he intended to transfer most of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare’s education-related functions to the Department of Education. He also intended to transfer the education-related functions of the Department of Defense, Justice, Housing and Urban Development, and Agriculture, along with a few other federal entities. Some federal education-related programs that were not proposed for transfer included Headstart, the Department of Agriculture’s school lunch and nutrition programs, the Department of the Interior’s Native American education programs, and the Department of Labor’s education and training programs.
Many Republican Party members opposed the department’s 1979 promotion to cabinet-level authority, alleging that it was an unwarranted and unlawful federal bureaucratic interference into local matters and that the Constitution did not include education. Others, on the other hand, believed that the department’s financial function was constitutional under the Taxing and Spending Clause and that the department was valid under the Commerce Clause. The American Federation of Teachers opposed the measure, but the National Education Association backed it.
The Office of Education employed 3,000 people and had a $12 billion yearly budget in 1979. When the Department of Education was established, Congress allocated $14 billion annually for it and employed 17,000 people. Governor Reagan demanded during the 1980 presidential campaign that the government role in education be drastically reduced, that the U.S. Department of Education be completely abolished, and that bilingual education be severely curtailed. President Reagan drastically cut its budget after taking office, but in 1988 he changed his mind and requested an increase from $18.4 billion to $20.3 billion, possibly to avoid a confrontation with Congress.
Ending diversity, equity, and inclusion programs
An “end-DEI” site was created by the Department of Education in February 2025 to handle complaints regarding DEI initiatives in schools. Federal funding reductions for universities that maintained diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives were another warning from the administration.
Investigations
The Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Education revealed in March 2025 that 60 colleges were being investigated for alleged antisemitic crimes. According to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which forbids discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin by any organization that receives federal funding, the investigations were sent. The probes coincide with growing pressure on college administrators to control pro-Palestine demonstrations and the cancellation of $400 million in grants and contracts by the Trump administration for Columbia’s inability to combat antisemitism on campus. Along with Harvard University, the University of California, Berkeley, Northwestern University, Portland State University, and four other institutions, Columbia was identified as one of the universities being investigated. An probe against 45 colleges for allegedly employing racial favoritism came next.
Efforts to close the department
Republicans have tried to shut down the agency since the 1980s. Since the beginning, the department has been rife with partisanship, from conservative Republican presidential candidates in 2016 who opposed the Common Core standards raised by President Barack Obama’s “Race to the Top” program to progressive teachers’ unions who organized against President George W. Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” policies. Closing initiatives received crucial steam during the coronavirus epidemic, following a reaction against school shutdowns that sparked a parental rights movement. Progressive policies that supported specific educational standards and inclusive policies for LGBTQ kids were also opposed, arguing that they violated parental rights.
The Department of Education’s closing, the widespread privatization of public schools, and the elimination of free and subsidized school meals, including SNAP benefits, are all major topics of Project 2025. A conservative curriculum for all public schools is another goal of Project 2025. The proposal also calls for the dismissal of millions of teachers who work for the government. Project 2025 has been likened to Trump’s plans.
Approximately two-thirds of Americans are against the idea, according to several polls conducted in February and March of 2025. Teachers who think the federal government has historically had a significant influence on American education are largely against it. Removing the department’s mission and resources would have a detrimental effect on the millions of students in low-income communities who require educational support and services, according to the National Education Association (NEA), which represents 2.8 million American teachers.
Impacts
According to a preliminary analysis of the forced layoffs, the Federal Student assistance office, which manages student loans and financial assistance disbursement, and the Office for Civil Rights, which safeguards instructors and students from discrimination, saw the most losses. The plan to reduce or shut down the agency will not impact congressionally granted funds, such as financial assistance, according to current Education Secretary McMahon. However, personnel turnover may cause several issues for recipients of help.
The Trump administration has pledged to maintain legally protected programs including the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP), Title 1 for high poverty schools, and formula financing for schools. However, the department’s reduction and layoffs will impact almost all statisticians and data professionals that deal with the program, since it went from having over 100 employees to only three.
In addition to managing the collection of the over $1.6 trillion in outstanding loans for more than 40 million borrowers as of March 2025, the agency is in charge of financing tens of billions of dollars to parents and students. Experts have hypothesized that other federal agencies, such the Treasury agency, might assume responsibility for loan management in the event that the agency were shut down.
Conclusion
The U.S. Department of Education has played a vital role in shaping and supporting American education since its establishment. While its responsibilities have evolved over time, its core mission remains centered on ensuring equal educational opportunities, providing financial aid, and advocating for quality education across the nation. However, the department has long been a subject of political debate, with ongoing efforts to reduce its influence or dismantle it entirely.
Recent developments, including proposed budget cuts, staff layoffs, and investigations into educational institutions, have reignited discussions about the federal government’s role in education. While some argue that decentralizing education policy would restore local control and reduce bureaucracy, others warn that such actions could negatively impact students, particularly those in disadvantaged communities who rely on federal support.
As debates over education policy continue, the future of the Department of Education remains uncertain. Whether it is restructured, downsized, or maintained in its current form, its impact on students, educators, and institutions will be significant. Ultimately, the direction of American education policy will depend on political leadership, public opinion, and the evolving needs of the nation’s students.