On March 20, President Trump signed an Executive Order calling for the closure of the U.S. Education Department and mandating that all federal programs comply with his other policies on DEI and gender ideology. While the White House had indicated that the Executive Order would not really be about closing the Department, suggesting that it would be more about reducing the Department and maintaining focus on core functions like Title I, IDEA, Pell, Student loans and Civil Rights compliance, the final document does call for “closing the Department of Education…to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law.”
At the signing ceremony, Trump seemed to acknowledge that it would take Congress to actually close the Department. Shortly after the EO was released, HELP Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy, R-LA, announced that he would be introducing legislation to close the Department.
Here are key portions of the EO:
Sec. 2. Closing the Department of Education and Returning Authority to the States. (a) The Secretary of Education shall, to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.
(b) Consistent with the Department of Education’s authorities, the Secretary of Education shall ensure that the allocation of any Federal Department of Education funds is subject to rigorous compliance with Federal law and Administration policy, including the requirement that any program or activity receiving Federal assistance terminate illegal discrimination obscured under the label “diversity, equity, and inclusion” or similar terms and programs promoting gender ideology.
Learning Forward issued a statement on the actions voicing concern about negative impact on valuable federal programs that improve teaching and learning nationwide.
