FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 20, 2025
Media Contact: Sumeet Bal, Director of Communications, [email protected], 917.647.1952

Public Advocates’ Statement on Trump Plan to Eliminate the Department of Education

Today, in a largely political stunt of questionable consequence, President Trump has issued an executive order directing his Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, to dismantle the Department of Education “to the maximum extent…permitted by law.”

This action is not about improving education; it’s a calculated political move that seeks to undermine the notion of any appropriate federal role in public education. The president and his cabinet secretary cannot dismantle the Department or its major funding programs without congressional approval. This posturing requires an act of Congress despite appearances otherwise; last week’s likely illegal elimination of half of the Department’s workforce is potentially more consequentially devastating.

“Nobody should be fooled,” said Guillermo Mayer, President and CEO of Public Advocates. “While this order purports to reduce federal bureaucracy, it’s part of a longer term plan to eliminate federal oversight in education and give states free rein to redirect billions of dollars away from public schools and towards private school vouchers. The ultimate goal is to erode the public’s trust in our system of public education.”

The president’s actions on education have been both ahistorical and contradictory. Education has historically been primarily state and locally controlled and federal law prohibits otherwise. “Ironically, while claiming to reduce federal bureaucracy and overreach, the order doubles down on attempting to impose unprecedented federal control over classroom content by threatening to withhold crucial funding from schools that discuss unconscious bias, diversity and equity,” said John Affeldt, Managing Attorney and Director of Education Equity at Public Advocates.

“The work to improve our public schools is a critical collective endeavor for our nation, and the federal government has been a valuable partner. The research is unequivocal: federal education funding has directly contributed to narrowing achievement gaps that widened during the pandemic; with each additional federal dollar showing measurable improvements in student outcomes. These funds disproportionately support our highest need districts—the very places that are still recovering from economic hardships and the pandemic. Federal education dollars are an important tool for ensuring educational opportunity isn’t determined by zip code,” Affeldt added.

The Department of Education exists to help states support schools in serving all students, and specifically protecting students with disabilities, students of color and poor students who historically were denied equal opportunities to learn, and to protect civil rights in education. If this administration and Congress closed the Department of Education it would disproportionately harm millions—in K12 and higher education—of impoverished students and students with disabilities across rural and urban America, in red states and blue states alike. It would put billions of dollars in jeopardy that serve low-income students and students with disabilities. These funds provide staffing in high needs schools and for students with disabilities, early childhood and pre-K programs, support for after school programs, and closing the achievement gaps. By crippling civil rights enforcement, the EO and its staff reductions hope to undermine protections for students from discrimination and eliminate crucial national data collection that ensures accountability across states.

In this moment of uncertainty, we stand in solidarity with educators, families, students, and advocates across the country who believe in the promise of public education. Together, we will defend our public schools, protect educational equity, and fight for the right of every student to learn in an environment that acknowledges our full history and prepares them for a diverse and democratic society.

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Public Advocates Inc. is a nonprofit law firm and advocacy organization that challenges the systemic causes of poverty and racial discrimination by strengthening community voices in public policy and achieving tangible legal victories advancing education, housing, transportation equity and climate justice.