As President Donald Trump works toward downsizing and potentially dismantling the Department of Education, a source close to White House stakeholders assured that critical programs, such as funding, student loans, and civil rights protections, will remain intact.
“They want to ensure that programs for disadvantaged students, such as those under Title I, as well as civil rights protections for girls in sports and racial equality in education through Title VI, will continue to be enforced by the federal government,” explained Sarah Parshall Perry, a leading legal expert at the Heritage Foundation, in an interview. “These responsibilities will persist until, and unless, they can be transferred to other departments through congressional action.”
On Thursday, Trump signed a long-anticipated executive order aimed at reducing the scope of the Department of Education, instructing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin the process of shutting it down and transferring key functions—like Pell Grants and Title I funding—to other federal agencies. Perry noted that this executive order represents the first step in a lengthy and thorough process to scale down the department.
“This is part of a broader effort to reduce the size of the department, but it also ensures that the federal government continues enforcing civil rights and administering financial aid until those specific duties are reassigned to other agencies,” Perry explained.
For example, Perry indicated that enforcement of civil rights laws would be moved to the Department of Justice, while student loan oversight would be handled by the Department of the Treasury.
“The White House is aware of the need to work with Congress to transfer these responsibilities and ultimately phase out the Department of Education,” she added.
Perry also mentioned that the initial cuts within the department have been targeted, focusing on eliminating initiatives related to critical race theory and diversity, equity, and inclusion, in line with other actions Trump has taken through executive orders.
“The executive order’s main provisions focus on narrowing the department’s scope and ensuring the continuation of civil rights protections and the management of federal financial aid programs,” she said. “Those duties can’t be fully transferred without congressional approval.”
Under Trump’s order, students attending colleges or private institutions who receive student loans or Pell Grants will still receive their federal funding. Perry stressed that there is a misconception that schools would close or face financial difficulties due to the department’s downsizing. In fact, “federal taxpayer spending makes up less than 10% of per-pupil funding in states, with the remaining funds primarily coming from local and state taxpayers, not federal taxpayers.”
Since the Education Department was created in 1979, its budget has grown from around $14 billion to approximately $268 billion for Fiscal Year 2024, accounting for about 4% of total federal spending, according to the Office of Management and Budget.
Before the establishment of the department, federal student loans were managed through the Guaranteed Student Loan Program, which began in 1965 under the Higher Education Act. This program allowed the federal government to guarantee loans provided by banks and non-profit lenders to students at eligible institutions. Perry emphasized that the focus should be on strengthening education at the state and local levels while maintaining federal oversight of student loans, civil rights protections, and funding for underprivileged students.
“The federal government will always have a role in enforcing and interpreting these protections and their associated financial aspects,” Perry said.
She suggested that these federal programs could be “divested” from the Department of Education, meaning that the department’s role in administering them would be reduced or transferred to other agencies.
Trump’s executive order is part of a broader initiative to fulfill a key campaign promise: to restore local control of education and support school choice amid ongoing cultural debates.
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