What’s Going On With The Department of Education?

President Donald Trump’s flurry of executive orders have had widespread effects on the economy, the health industry, foreign affairs, and more. Many believe that his biggest action in the education world came on March 20, when he signed an order to dismantle the U.S. Education Department.

It might be harder than he wishes: dissolving the department takes more than just an executive order, because such an action requires congressional approval.

The major action was a large part of his platform as a candidate from the beginning. As Trump said in the official 2025 Republican Party Platform, the administration would “send [education] back to the states, where it belongs.”

Notably, the department closing was included in Project 2025, a heavily polarizing document authored by the Heritage Foundation, a large conservative think tank, as a potential blueprint for the next conservative leader in the White House.

Such an action, if executed successfully, would shut down an over 50-year-old department. President Jimmy Carter signed a law that split the Education Department off from the Department of Health and Human Services in 1979. They were previously united as the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

The Department of Education serves four primary roles: it ensures equal access to schooling, collects data and research, recommends educational reform, along with monitoring and distributing financial aid.

“The programs are of utmost importance,” government teacher Tom Michel said. “Title I funding for low income schools, IEP and 504 protections are critical to save. Schools and students rely on this funding, as well as medicaid for some occupational health services, to access education.

Trump’s order would close the department down to nothing but a few baseline necessities. President Trump made a statement to reporters as he signed the order: “It’s doing us no good.”

Those necessities include Pell grants, funding for children with disabilities, and Title 1 aid for low-income schooling.

But an executive department can’t simply be shut down, not without legislative approval. The department was created by Congress, and it takes a Congressional bill to tear down.

Closing the Department Could Bring Damaging Cuts To Programs That Support Students With Physical, Mental Disabilities 

Special and paraeducators are worried about the impacts that a nonexistent Department of Education would have on them and their students. 

Currently, the Department of Education ensures educational rights protections for students with special needs through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, IDEA.

As the current administration in the White House continues to threaten the department, in conjunction with the introduction of Congressional legislation targeted at eliminating the department, educators and school administrators around the country are left without specific answers about how their programs will be affected. 

The Department of Education has been a major contributor to the institution of special education in schools across the country, and its IDEA program has protected educational equality since its enactment in 1975, predating the establishment of the department itself. A Department of Education document dated January of 2025 (Prior to president Trump’s inauguration) declared that “Our nation has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to providing every child with an equal opportunity to an education. Together, the ESEA [Elementary and Secondary Education Act] and the IDEA provide the system and structure to ensure that children with disabilities have access to learning environments that meet their individual needs.”

According to a document on the Department’s IDEA website, the overarching goal of Colorado’s implementation of IDEA was to “Ensure a meaningful and continuous process that focuses on improving academic performance and outcomes for students with disabilities.” 

Some of Creek’s paraeducators fear that were the department to be dissolved, and by extension IDEA, the stability of funding for their departments may be endangered.

“States can apply for grant funding through the Department of Education, and then they allocate that grant funding to districts to use,” Creek REACH Coordinator Tara Cullen said. “Since the Department of Education [is being] dissolved, one can anticipate that some of that grant funding is going to go away, though, my understanding is that some of it could be supplied through other other [district or state] offices.”

REACH is a program exclusive to Creek, the acronym standing for “Rigorous Curriculum, Executive Skills, Affective Education, Community Citizenship, Health Habits” and plays an integral role in ensuring educational equality for Creek students.

“We support students who have IEP service minutes for direct social emotional instruction,” Cullen said. “Individualized Education Plans are [by definition] individualized, so every student has a tailor made program that’s just for them. It very much depends on what the student needs.”

If the administration does finalize its plans to shut down the department, students who use a 504 or IEP plan could see their accommodations under those programs disappear, at least at the federally protected level. It’s likely that the state would take monetary control of programs like these, given the President’s desire to return control of these policies to the states. The Colorado Department of Education currently upholds 504s and IEPs – they just wouldn’t receive as much funding.  

While the counseling department declined to comment, Assistant Principal Jessica Robinson, who manages Creek’s 504 plans, expressed profound unease with recent events concerning the department.

“The Department of Education has historically supported inclusion (with supports) for special education,” Robinson said. “If we don’t have a solid Department of Education, then the resources that are needed to support these students in accessing their education are not going to be available.”

Robinson’s concern expands beyond special education, expressing worry of how many other groups would be affected. 

“I never thought, in my career, that I would ever have to deal with [an absent] Department of Education,” Robinson said. “I never thought that there would be no structure to support educators and schools at the federal level.”

In a March 20 ED press release, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon stated that “Closing the Department does not mean cutting off funds from those who depend on them—we will continue to support K-12 students, students with special needs, college student borrowers, and others who rely on essential programs.” Though, exactly how the federal government plans to fund these without a Department of Education remains unclear.

Regardless of the questions raised about the department’s shutdown, Creek’s paraeducators remain resolutely dedicated to their jobs.

“We are here to make sure that all of our students can access their education, which looks a little bit different for students with different needs,” Cullen said. “A lot of our students can have learning needs, emotional health needs, they might have physical health needs. Our job [remains] making sure that that access for our students is available.”

The End of Federal Protections Against Discrimination Could Harm Minority Students

One fear for educators and students alike is the possibility of the Department of Education’s complete shutdown of their Civil Rights office, and the office’s shift to the Department of Justice.

The Department of Education, as it stands, sets all federal policy for how discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age is handled in public schools, then state education associations direct their schools to follow those policies. 

Colorado’s Department of Education states that “all students have the right to an education that is free from discrimination, harassment, and bullying,” and follows federal policy for all of its public schools. 

“[Equitable education access] is important for kids to foster their growth and to help them develop into whoever they want to be,” Assistant Principal Jessica Robinson said. “It’s important that people who are part of the Department of Education understand education and understand what kids need to grow, how kids learn, what teachers need to be successful, what tools teachers need, what administrators need in order to effectively run schools.”

“Discrimination issues, previously investigated by the Department of Education, would be done via the Department of Justice,” government teacher Tom Michel said. “I am disappointed that education has continued to be a political instrument rather than the focus it deserves to be.”

The move to the Department of Justice would “would leave millions of students vulnerable to discrimination, leading to lower levels of motivation and academic achievement and a higher risk of dropping out,” according to the National Education Association. 

If more students were to drop out due to fear of discrimination, schools would likely see decreasing populations of minority students. 

“Students should know they can’t be discriminated against because it helps them feel safer and more confident. When people understand their rights, they’re more likely to speak up if something’s wrong,” senior Latinos Unidos President Jocelyn Hernandez-Martinez said. “I do think it impacts minority students’ enrollment too. If a school has a reputation for being inclusive and fair, more students from different backgrounds will probably want to go there.”

One of the Civil Rights Office’s main priorities was investigating reports of discrimination in schools. Before most of the office was cut down and its staff was laid off, it was regularly investigating cases that included racial or gender discrimination in schools. But now, the office has slowed to only a trickle of investigations. 

“Only 57 investigations that found a civil rights violation and led to change at a school or college were completed in March,” ProPublica reported. “Only 51 were resolved by finding violations in April. The Biden administration completed as many as 200 investigations a month.”

For students at Creek, many are worried that their discrimination protections could be uprooted, leaving them more vulnerable at school. 

“If there were fewer or more confusing policies about discrimination, it would definitely harm students. People might not even know what counts as discrimination or how to report it,” Hernandez-Martinez said. “That can make students feel powerless or like no one cares, which obviously affects how they do in school and how comfortable they feel being themselves.”

A Nonexistent Department Of Education Could Force Low-Income Support Programs To Shutter Services

As the Department of Education prepares to shut down, one aspect being affected is the department’s support for lower-income students – programs like FAFSA, Pell Grants, free school lunches, and more. 

There are many ways the government currently supports lower-income students; they do this through the TRIO programs, which assists disadvantaged students in achieving higher education. Financial aid, like FAFSA and Pell Grants, are other programs that allow students from lower-income families to succeed by providing funding for school materials and tuition, and are most commonly used by graduating high school seniors as they prepare for college.

The Department of Education (ED) has already had nearly half of its staff laid off, according to a press release by the department on March 11. But there may also be cuts in funding for programs. 

These current systems may no longer receive funding from the federal government and instead money will have to come from private funds. “Student loans will probably still be available,” Post Grad Coordinator Craig Wittgrove said. “It’s just [a question of] whether it’s going to be through the federal government or if it’ll be through private.” 

No decisions on how federal aid will be distributed have been set yet, so staff within the district have been carefully watching for any updates. 

“The Pell Grants, we know that they’re in place for next year, but after that, to be honest, I think it’s extremely fluid,” Wittgrove said. “We don’t know if it’ll still be in place, if it’ll be the same amount, if it’ll be less, who will be eligible for it, things like that.”

The district, at the moment, plans to help families prepare for the shift when it comes. “If [aid] goes private, then that will no longer show, and then it’ll be kind of up to families to kind of figure that out,” Wittgrove said.

With the use of private instead of federal funding, interest rates on financial aid would be much less transparent to the public. 

“When you go private, there can be more variances that are offered. It can be kind of hidden, and so it might not be as transparent,” Wittgrove said. “Those are some of the concerns that people have, is that once it goes private, how do we protect students and parents from being taken advantage of.”

To combat this issue, Creek will plan to find a way to make these families aware of the opportunities they have.

 “Probably what we are doing is that we will make sure as much as we can that parents are informed, that students are informed of the options,” Wittgrove said.  “How to look at those different options and things like that.”

The ED is not the only department that is being changed by the current administration; the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which provides the meals at school, is also experiencing cuts. 

Schools in CCSD currently provide free breakfast and lunch, however, Overland High School has another program which also provides dinner for students. “A student at Overland can get breakfast, lunch and supper, and that’s something that we’re looking at trying to increase in other schools that qualify,” Assistant Director of Food and Nutrition Services Shannon Thompson said. “We serve over 100 kids there every night, so it’s great to see that those kids are enjoying that and getting that extra meal.” 

Cuts to the USDA could prevent these programs from having the funding necessary to function and, as a result, could shut down. If cuts continue, schools might have to rely on reserve budgets and state funding to provide food for kids. Creek would be able to stretch its budget enough to still provide lunches. In order to balance income with the reserve budget, CCSD would likely have to increase prices of ‘a la carte’ options, like ice cream and other additional items, to cover gaps in funding. 

Some educators and administrators stressed the importance of advocacy.

 “I go every March to Washington D.C. to talk to our legislators and talk to Senator John Hickenlooper’s office about stopping those changes,” Thompson said. “That’s really the best way to effect change is to talk to our legislators, let them know that this is really important for our schools and for our students, to make sure that they have healthy meals every day and to keep that funding there.”

As Educators Raise Concerns About Curriculum Requirements, Colorado Protects Diverse Teaching

As the Trump administration looks to shut down the Department of Education, many education groups, teachers, and students, have expressed concerns about how a shutdown could impact what and how they’re being taught. 

Across the country, students have raised concerns about seeing their curriculum changed if the Department of Education is shut down. Worries over history subjects like slavery, the Holocaust, and civil rights have all cropped up, leaving students feeling uncertain over what they’ll be taught. 

“Overall, I just say that it’s honestly scary that that stuff’s getting cut, especially for kids our age, we have to grow up into that, missing certain key educational services and goods due to budget cuts,” one anonymous student said. 

The Department of Education “establishes policies relating to federal financial aid for education, administers distribution of those funds and monitors their use,” according to their website. This means that the Department really only controls how much federal money a school receives, collects data on how education services work, and prohibits discrimination.

This means that if the Department were to shut down, control over curriculum would likely be the state’s decision, which it essentially already is. “Colorado is a ‘local control’ state,” the Colorado Department of Education states, meaning that they’re the ones in control of curriculum. 

Looking at right-leaning states like Florida, who have responded to a movement for less diverse and more religious teachings at the state level, Creek teachers see Colorado as the opposite – a state that’s stood by its education practices. 

“Schools are regularly under fire for what we teach, how we teach it, and I think the teachers at Creek are experts in teaching these subjects despite differing opinions on the “right” way to teach them,” government teacher Tom Michel said. “Some states such as Florida have dictated what is taught and how it is taught, but so far Colorado has not seen this large movement for social studies.”

The only thing the Department of Education could potentially do is remove federal funding from schools that are found to teach a ‘diverse’ curriculum, classes like AP African American History and Queer Literature, for example. The department has already threatened to do this, and CCSD stated they would not bend to the administration’s demands to remove DEI, but it’s up for debate if classes like these would be included in the cuts. 

“We have to be very specific about the kind of messaging we’re putting out, but also informing people that this policy is not the end all be all and that there are still ways that we can work to create a better world and create a more inclusive school culture,” senior Senate Equity & Inclusion Coordinator Kimaya Kini said. 

As it stands, schools in Colorado and within CCSD remain as insulated as they can be against threats to curriculum and general education.

“As a teacher it is disheartening to see that the department can shut down,” Michel said. “On the other hand, since schools are primarily directed at the state level, the impact of closing the department, assuming the corresponding programs are not closed and are sent to other departments, the impact may not be that big.”

Teacher Training for “Divisive” Ideologies Was Gutted, but Has No Effect on Creek

The Department of Education never instated teacher training requirements – those were already left to the states. But it did supply huge funds for certain certifications, such as those for diversity and race education.

Feb. 17 saw the ED cut a substantial $600 million for training on what it calls “divisive” ideologies.

According to an ED press release, the subjects, particularly Critical Race Theory and DEI, “included inappropriate and unnecessary topics” and “instruction on white privilege and white supremacy.” 

For the administration, it was necessary to cut the funding because “many of these grants included teacher and staff recruiting strategies implicitly and explicitly based on race.”

In another cut to training, The Supreme Court upheld the administration’s cutting of 104 different teacher training grants under the Teacher Quality Partnership and Supporting Effective Educator Development programs because states never proved that “it is unlikely to recover the grant funds once they are disbursed.”

While these cuts have happened at the federal level, according to Principal Ryan Silva, Creek won’t be impacted by the major cuts. The school receives funding for special education, 504 learning, and food and nutrition.

“We wouldn’t qualify for grants at the federal level because a lot of times you had to be a Title I school, and we’re not,” Silva said. “And so we generally don’t qualify for much federal money outside of those three pools.”

Title I schools are low income schools – teaching training funding cuts will have more of an impact on them.

Silva does believe that decisions on funding are better left to the states, and even more local governments, like a school board.

“If you think about it, the federal government, how can they really make decisions that are appropriate for all schools,” he asked. “Even just within our school district, it’s difficult for our Board of Education and our superintendent to make decisions that are appropriate for six traditional high schools, and that’s just one school district.”