The Department of Education is undergoing significant changes aimed at reducing its size and enhancing state control over education. Education Secretary Linda McMahon is leading efforts to dismantle federal bureaucracy in education.
Agency Reduction: Secretary McMahon intends to shrink the Department of Education by transferring its functions to other federal agencies. This move aims to cut down on duplicative efforts and make the system more efficient.
Parental Backlash: Many parents reacted to remote learning during COVID-19 by expressing concerns that schools were more focused on propaganda than on teaching essential subjects. This has led to increased demands for restoring parental rights and educational freedom.
Executive Action: In March 2025, President Trump signed an executive order directing McMahon to facilitate the department's closure as much as legally possible. McMahon views this as the agency's "final mission."
Staff Reduction: The Department's workforce has decreased from approximately 4,100 to about 2,200 due to buyouts and layoffs.
Program Transfers: Through interagency agreements, over 100 educational programs have been transferred to other departments, such as K-12 grants to the Labor Department and aspects of the student loan portfolio to the Treasury Department, while canceling over $1 billion in contracts and grants.
The shift aims to minimize federal oversight in education by empowering states and parents, with McMahon's overarching goal being to make her position unnecessary. The ongoing changes reflect a broader initiative to restructure education governance in the United States.
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