United States
Department of Education

Seal of the United States Department of Education
Flag of the United States Department of Education
Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building, Department Headquarters
Department overview
Formed	October 17, 1979; 45 years ago (1979-10-17)
Preceding agencies	Department of Health, Education, and Welfare United States Office of Education
Jurisdiction	Federal government of the United States
Headquarters	Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building, 400Maryland Avenue,Southwest,Washington, D.C., U.S. 20202 38°53′11.5″N77°1′7.9″W / 38.886528°N 77.018861°W /38.886528; -77.018861
Employees	4,200 (2025)[1]
Annual budget	$238.04 billion (2024)[2]
Department executives	Linda McMahon,Secretary Vacant,Deputy Secretary
Key document	Department of Education Organization Act
Website	ed.gov

TheUnited States Department of Education is acabinet-level department of theUnited States government, originating in 1980. The department began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after theDepartment of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department of Education and theDepartment of Health and Human Services by theDepartment of Education Organization Act, which PresidentJimmy Carter signed into law on October 17, 1979.^[3][4] An earlier iteration was formed in 1867 but was quickly demoted to the Office of Education a year later.^[5] Its official abbreviation isED ("DOE" refers to theUnited States Department of Energy) but is also abbreviated informally as "DoEd".^[6]

The Department of Education is administered by theUnited States secretary of education. In 2021 it had more than 4,000 employees – the smallest staff of the Cabinet agencies^[7] – and a 2024 budget of $268 billion, up from $14 billion when it was established in 1979. In 2025, the department's budget was about four percent of the total US federal spending.^[8]

On March 11, 2025, seven weeks afterDonald Trump's second term began, theDepartment of Government Efficiency announced it would fire nearly half the Department of Education's workforce.^[9][10] Trump signed an order on March 20 aimed at closing the department to the maximum extent allowed by law;^[11][12] the department cannot be entirely closed without the approval of Congress, which created it.^[13][14] U.S. district judgeMyong Joun in Boston blocked the mass layoff and the dismantle attempt on May 22, 2025.^[15]

The department identifies four key functions:^[16]

• Establishing policies on federal financial aid for education and distributing as well as monitoring those funds.
• Collecting data on America's schools and disseminating research.
• Focusing national attention on key issues in education and making recommendations for education reform.
• Prohibiting discrimination and ensuring equal access to education.

The Department of Education is a member of theUnited States Interagency Council on Homelessness^[17] and works with federal partners to ensure proper education for homeless and runaway youth in the United States.

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In 1867, PresidentAndrew Johnson signed legislation to create a Department of Education. It was seen as a way to collect information and statistics about the nation's schools and provide advice to schools in the same way theDepartment of Agriculture helped farmers.^[18] The department was originally proposed byHenry Barnard and leaders of the National Teachers Association, renamed theNational Education Association. Barnard served as the first commissioner of education. He resigned when the office was reconfigured as a bureau in the Department of Interior, known as theUnited States Office of Education due to concerns it would have too much control over local schools.^[19][20][21]

Over the years, the office remained relatively small, operating under different titles and housed in various agencies, including theUnited States Department of the Interior and the former United States Department of Health Education and Welfare (DHEW), now theUnited States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).^[21] In 1920, an unsuccessful attempt at creating a Department of Education, headed by asecretary of education, came with the Smith–Towner Bill.^[22]

In 1939, the organization, then a bureau, was transferred to theFederal Security Agency, where it was renamed as the Office of Education. AfterWorld War II, PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower promulgated "Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1953". The Federal Security Agency was abolished and most of its functions were transferred to the newly formed DHEW.^[23]

In 1979, President Carter advocated for creating a cabinet-level Department of Education.^[24] Carter's plan was to transfer most of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare's education-related functions to the Department of Education.^[24] Carter also planned to transfer the education-related functions of the departments of Defense, Justice, Housing and Urban Development, and Agriculture, as well as a few other federal entities.^[24] Among the federal education-related programs that were not proposed to be transferred wereHeadstart, the Department of Agriculture's school lunch and nutrition programs, the Department of the Interior's Native Americans' education programs, and the Department of Labor's education and training programs.^[24]

Upgrading Education to cabinet-level status in 1979 was opposed by many in theRepublican Party, who saw the department asunconstitutional, arguing that the Constitution does not mentioneducation, and deemed it an unnecessary and illegal federal bureaucratic intrusion into local affairs. However, others saw the department as constitutional under theCommerce Clause, and that the funding role of the department is constitutional under theTaxing and Spending Clause. TheNational Education Association supported the bill, while theAmerican Federation of Teachers opposed it.^[25]

In 1979, the Office of Education had 3,000 employees and an annual budget of $12 billion.^[26] Congress appropriated to the Department of Education an annual budget of $14 billion and 17,000 employees when establishing the Department of Education.^[27] During the 1980 presidential campaign, Gov. Reagan called for the total elimination of the U.S. Department of Education, severe curtailment of bilingual education, and massive cutbacks in the federal role in education.Once in office, President Reagansignificantly reduced its budget,^[28] but in 1988, perhaps to reduce conflict withCongress, he decided to change his mind and ask for an increase from $18.4 billion to $20.3 billion.^[29]

The 1980 Republican Party platform called for the elimination of the Department of Education created under Carter, and PresidentRonald Reagan promised during the1980 presidential election to eliminate it as a cabinet post,^[30] but he was not able to do so with aDemocraticHouse of Representatives.^[31] In the 1982State of the Union Address, he pledged: "The budget plan I submit to you on Feb. 8 will realize major savings by dismantling the Department of Education."^[31]

In 1984, the GOP dropped the call for elimination from its platform. With the election of PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush in 1988, the Republican position evolved in almost lockstep with that of the Democrats, withGoals 2000 a virtual joint effort.^{[citation needed]}

In 1994, after theNewt Gingrich–led "revolution" took control of both houses of Congress, federal control of and spending on education soared. That trend continued unabated despite the fact that the Republican Party made abolition of the department a cornerstone of its 1996 platform and campaign promises, calling it an inappropriate federal intrusion into local, state, and family affairs.^[31] The GOP platform read: "The Federal government has no constitutional authority to be involved in school curricula or to control jobs in the market place. This is why we will abolish the Department of Education, end federal meddling in our schools, and promote family choice at all levels of learning."^[31]

In 2000, theRepublican Liberty Caucus passed a resolution to seek to abolish the Department of Education.^[32]

TheGeorge W. Bush administration made reform of federal education a key priority of the president's first term. In 2008 and 2012, presidential candidateRon Paul campaigned in part on an opposition to the department.^[33]

Under President George W. Bush, the department primarily focused on elementary and secondary education, expanding its reach through theNo Child Left Behind Act. The department's budget increased by $14 billion between 2002 and 2004, from $46 billion to $60 billion.^[31][35]

In March 2007, President George W. Bush signed into lawH.R. 584, which designates the ED Headquarters building as theLyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building.^[36]

In December 2015, President Barack Obama signed theEvery Student Succeeds Act, which reauthorized the Elementary Secondary Education Act, which replaced the No Child Left Behind Act.^[37]

The department's 2023 budget was $274 billion, which included funding for children with disabilities (IDEA), pandemic recovery, early childhood education,Pell Grants,Title I, work assistance, among other programs. This budget was down from $637.7 billion in 2022.^[38]

In March 2025, President Donald Trump signedan executive order which would begin the dismantling of the Department of Education, seeking to fulfill decades of conservative ambition to eliminate the agency, but raising new questions for public schools and parents. The White House earlier said the agency would continue to oversee "critical function" like student loans.^[39] In April 2025, Linda McMahon announced that the Department of Education would resume garnishment of the wages of student debtors whose loans are in default.^[40]

In February 2025, the Department of Education established an "end-DEI" portal to take complaints about DEI programs in schools. The administration also warned of cuts in federal funding for universities that continued withdiversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.^[41]

In March 2025, the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights announced that 60 universities were under investigation for allegations of violations related to antisemitism. The investigations were sent under the authority of Title VI of theCivil Rights Act which bans any institution receiving federal funds from discriminating on race, color and national origin. The investigations came during mounting pressure on university administrations to rein in pro-Palestine protests and the Trump administration canceling $400 million in grant funding and contracts toColumbia over alleged failure to quash antisemitism on campus. Columbia was named as one of the universities under investigation along withNorthwestern University,Portland State University,University of California, Berkeley,Harvard University, and four otherIvies.^[42][43] This was followed by an investigation of 45 universities for allegedly using racial preferences.^[44]

Republican attempts to close the agency date back to the 1980s.^[45] Partisanship over the department has been rife since the start, from progressive-leaning teachers' unions who organized against President George W. Bush's "No Child Left Behind" policies, to conservative Republican presidential candidates in 2016 who ran against theCommon Core standards elevated by President Barack Obama's "Race to the Top" program.^[13] Closing efforts gained critical momentum during thecoronavirus pandemic, after aparental rights movement grew out of a backlash to school shutdowns.^[13] There was also opposition to progressive policies that promoted certain education standards and inclusive policies for LGBTQ students which, it was contended, undermined parental rights.^[13]

Project 2025, aHeritage Foundation policy plan, deals heavily with the closure of the Department of Education,^[46][47] massprivatization of public schools, and endingsubsidized and free school lunches.^[48] Project 2025 also seeks to create aconservative schoolcurriculum for all public schools.^[49][50] The plan also includes provisions for the layoffs of millions of public employed teachers. Trump's second term policies have been compared to Project 2025.^[49][51]

Multiple polls in February and March 2025 showed that roughly two-thirds of Americans oppose the idea.^[13] It is broadly opposed by educators who believe the federal government has historically played an important role in American education.^[52] The position of theNational Education Association (NEA), representing 2.8 million American teachers, was that stripping the department of its resources and mission would negatively impact the millions of students in low-income communities who need educational services and support.

On March 3, 2025,Linda McMahon was sworn in as the nation's 13th Secretary of Education.^[53] Trump emphasized that McMahon's primary objective would be to close the Department of Education, stating, "I want her to put herself out of a job."^[54] McMahon echoed Trump's comments, stating that the department was not needed when asked directly if the United States needed the department.^[55]

On March 20, 2025, Trump signedan executive order^[56] directing the secretary of education to "facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities".^[57][56] However, the department cannot be closed without the approval of Congress, which created it.^[13]NBC News said, "Given their narrow majority, Republicans would need Democratic support to do that, which would make it unlikely for such a bill to pass."^[58]

In February 2025, US Department of Education offered its staff incentives to resign or retire early.^[59] In March 2025, the department announced a plan to reduce its workforce by half.^[60]

Based on a preliminary review of the layoffs that were ordered, the majority of cuts were seen in theFederal Student Aid office which oversees financial aid disbursement and student loans, and theOffice for Civil Rights, which protects students and teachers from discrimination. While current Education Secretary McMahon has claimed that congressionally appropriated monies such as financial aid will not be affected by the plan to downsize or close the department, but staff turnover could create multiple problems for those receiving aid.^[61]

The Trump administration has promised that formula funding for schools, funding such asTitle 1 for high poverty schools, and the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) which are protected by law would be preserved. However, nearly all statisticians and data experts who work with the program would be affected by the layoffs and downsizing of the department, as the department was downsized from over 100 people to just three workers.^[62]

The department oversees the lending of tens of billions of dollars inloans to students and parents and oversees the collections process of the roughly $1.6 trillion in outstanding loans for over 40 million borrowers as of March 2025. If the department were to be closed, it has been theorized by experts other federal entities such as the Treasury Department would take over the responsibilities of managing the loans.^[63] On March 21, 2025 it was announced by Trump that the management of the entire federal student loan portfolio and the other "special needs" programs overseen by the department would be moved to other departments. Trump specified that theSmall Business Administration would take over responsibility for student loans and theHealth and Human Services office would take on the special needs and nutrition programs.^[64][65]

In a joint letter, senatorsElizabeth Warren,Bernie Sanders and a group of Democratic senators spoke out against the mass layoffs that were seen in March 2025 and urged Education Secretary McMahon to reinstate employees that were laid off.^[66] RepresentativeBobby Scott, the ranking member on theHouse Committee on Education and the Workforce raised claims that the dismantling of the department would "exacerbate existing disparities, reduce accountability and put low-income students, students of color, students with disabilities, rural students and English as a Second Language students at risk".^[67]

Derrick Johnson, the president and CEO of theNAACP, criticized Trump's attempt to close the department while raising allegations that Trump was dismantling the basic functions of democracy.^[67]

Office of Federal Student Aid: $160.7B (59.0%)  Title I Grants: $83B (30.5%)  Special Education: $20.7B (7.6%)   Other: $8B (2.9%)

Budget of the Department of Education forFY 2024, showing its largest components[8]

For 2024, the US Department of Education's budget was approximately $268 billion with $79,052,238 in discretionary spending.^[69] The department currently holds and maintains approximately $1.7 trillion in federal student loan debt.^[70]

• Council for Higher Education Accreditation
• Educational attainment in the United States
• Free Application for Federal Student Aid
• FICE code
• Federal Student Aid
• Higher education in the United States
• National Diffusion Network
• National Endowment for the Humanities
• School Improvement Grant
• Student loans in the United States
• Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations

• 1965:Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
• 1965:Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) (Pub. L. No. 89-329)
• 1974:Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
• 1974:Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 (EEOA)
• 1975:Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) (Pub. L. No. 94-142)
• 1978:Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment
• 1979:Department of Education Organization Act (Pub. L. No. 96-88)
• 1984:Equal Access Act
• 1990:The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act)
• 1994:Improving America's Schools Act of 1994
• 2001:No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)
• 2004:Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
• 2005: Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 (HERA) (Pub. L. No. 109-171)
• 2006:Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act
• 2007:America COMPETES Act
• 2008: Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) (Pub. L. No. 110-315)
• 2009:Race to the Top
• 2009:Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act
• 2010:Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010
• 2015:Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

• Bauman, Dan, and Brock Read. "A Brief History of GOP Attempts to Kill the Education Dept"Chronicle of Higher Education (June 21, 2018) )online

• Berube, Maurice R.American Presidents and Education (1991) from Washington to GHW Bush

• Flanagan, Coral J., and Kenneth K. Wong. "The Administrative Presidency and PK‐12 Education Policy: Student Rights and Oversight During the Trump and Biden Era."Public Administration Review (2025)online.

• Garhart, Margaret Anne. "Deep Cuts and Wishful Thinking": The Reagan Administration and the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act, 1981-1988" (PhD Dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 2023)onlune.

• Graham, Hugh Davis.The Uncertain Triumph: Federal Education Policy in the Kennedy and Johnson Years (U of North Carolina Press, 1984).online; narrow focus on political maneuvering
• Gritter, Matthew. "Passing a Bill “Nobody Especially Cared About": The Creation of the Department of Education."Congress & the Presidency 51#1 (2024).https://doi.org/10.1080/07343469.2024.2311416

• Heffernan, Robert V.Cabinetmakers: Story of the Three-Year Battle to Establish the U.S. Department of Education (2001),ISBN 978-0595158706
• Kursh, Harry.The United States Office of Education: a century of service (1965)online, narrative history; emphasizing 1960s
• McAndrews, Lawrence J.The Era of Education: The Presidents and the Schools, 1965–2001 (University of Illinois Press, 2006)
• Mitchell, Shayla Lois Marie. "An historical analysis of the creation of a cabinet-level United States Department of Education" (PhD dissertation, Diss. Georgia State University;  ProQuest Dissertations & Theses,  2008. 3323225).
• Munger, Frank J., and Richard F. Fenno Jr.National Politics and Federal Aid to Education (Syracuse University Press, 1962).online
• Radin, Beryl A., and Willis D. Hawley (1988).Politics of Federal Reorganization: Creating the U.S. Department of Education,ISBN 978-0080339771
• Rivlin, Alice M.The role of the Federal Government in financing higher education (Brookings 1961)online

• Salajan, Florin D., and Tavis D. Jules. "US Education in the Age of Trumpism, Project 2025, American Isolationism, and the Global Polycrisis: Charting a New Role for Comparative and International Education."Comparative Education Review 68.4 (2024): 519-537.onlinne

• Seib, Shirley, Ed.Federal Role in Education (Congressional Quarterly, 1967)
• Smith, Darrell Hevenor.The Bureau of Education Its History Activities and Organization (1923)online
• Sniegoski, Stephen J. "A Bibliography of the Literature on the History of the US Department of Education and its Forerunners". (1988).online
• Stallings, D. T.A brief history of the United States Department of Education, 1979–2002 (Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University, 2002).online
• Warren, Donald R.To Enforce Education: A History of the Founding Years of the United States Office of Education (Wayne State University Press, 1974), a leading scholarly history;online
• Warren, Donald R. "The U.S. Department of Education: A Reconstruction Promise to Black Americans".Journal of Negro Education 63:4 (February 1974), pp. 437–51.online

• Examining the Policies and Priorities of the U.S. Department of Education. Hearing before the Committee on Education and Labor. U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, First Session (April 10, 2019), 2020,ERIC ED606237

• Official website
• Department of Education onUSAspending.gov
• Department of Education in theFederal Register
• Department of Education |United States Government Manual
• Department of Education reports and recommendations from theGovernment Accountability Office
• Department of Educationapportionments on OpenOMB
• ERIC DigestsArchived 16 April 2021 at theWayback Machine – Informational digests on educational topics produced by the U.S. Department of Education before 1983.

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