Over the past few months, the Department of Education has experienced many changes, some of which are causing concern for families, educators, and students across the United States. You may be asking what the Department of Education (DOE) does. Among other responsibilities, they’re most known for ensuring rights to an equitable education, supporting schools, and providing grants and loans for higher education.
During President Trump’s 2024 campaign, he promised to close the DOE and transfer the responsibility of education to individual states rather than leave it in federal jurisdiction. Having seemingly kept good on this promise, he has already dismissed over half of the DOE’s staff.
This has caused a variety of different reactions amongst Americans. One of the largest concerns about leaving education up to the states is what that means for students with disabilities. Under IDEIA (Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act), all students with physical or neurological disabilities are entitled to a “free appropriate public education.” Additionally, school districts must find and evaluate students who have disabilities without charging families for subsequent costs. This forces public schools to educate students with disabilities and provide additional support. Many worry that because President Trump is dismantling the DOE, students’ rights under IDEIA won’t be fully protected.
Furthermore, Americans are heavily worried about the dismantling of Section 504. Section 504 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs that receive financial assistance from the DOE. With Section 504 also being heavily debated over, some states have decided to sue the US government.
One of the main arguments against Section 504 is that students should not receive accommodations and protections due to gender dysphoria, which was classified as a qualifier for Section 504. This protection was recently removed from under federal law by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. While many Americans feel that this reason is a very extreme reaction to justify getting rid of Section 504, others do agree with this argument. If Section 504 were to be overturned, protections for disabled individuals would be left to the states to decide or wholly taken away. Many states would most likely implement their own version, but these new protections may not be the same as the one we currently have. This could mean that students across the country could lose access to current services and protections, making educational aspirations significantly harder for them.
Trump has also mentioned turning the responsibility of special education over to the Department of Health. Many worry that special education would be overseen by a medical model approach, suggesting that mental health disorders are the product of a physical condition. Medical models typically try to ‘fix the problem’ instead of accepting that disabilities are a part of the person. Denise Marshall, CEO of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, said, “We wouldn’t take our kids to the doctor to learn reading and math, and we don’t want a primarily medical model overseeing education.”
Lest parents worry that a medical model would mean less oversight over their children’s education, President Trump is pushing for families to have more involvement when it comes to what their children are learning in the classroom. Another presidential action he signed in January of 2025 calls for the end of “racial indoctrination,” stating that schools have indoctrinated children in “radical, anti-American ideologies while deliberately blocking parental oversight.” It also declares that “innocent children are compelled to adopt identities as either victims or oppressors solely based on their skin color and other immutable characteristics.” Presidential actions command the government to take specific action to ensure that the law is executed. However, they cannot override federal laws and statutes.
A further concern about Trump’s plan to dismantle the DOE and leave education up to individual states is the lack of a standardized curriculum. The United States is unique in that it does not have a standardized curriculum across all public school districts in the country. As of this year, the USA ranked 31st in the world for education. However, the state of Massachusetts as its own country would rank in the top 5 worldwide. Additionally, there are concerns over higher education. If a student from Alabama decides to attend college in New York, or vice versa, they may not have had the same educational background as students from the college’s region, making their education significantly more challenging. If there was a standard curriculum across the United States, however, the gaps in education across states could start to lessen, which would benefit students across the board. This might also help the United States to become one of the leading countries for education in the future. Parents nationwide are pushing for their local school systems to make statements about future plans in light of these possible changes.
In higher education, many college students are concerned about what will happen to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). According to a Presidential Action signed in March of 2025, “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.” To comply with federal policy, programs receiving funding have been directed to terminate “illegal discrimination obscured under the label ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ or similar terms and programs promoting gender ideology.” Beth Maglione, CEO and President of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, said, “Dismantling the Department in haste could cripple the government’s ability to accurately distribute billions in federal student aid, putting millions of students at risk — especially low-income students who lack a financial safety net.” Currently, countless high school seniors are anxiously awaiting the result of their financial aid packages, now concerned about their ability to attend college this fall.