President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday afternoon he wanted the U.S. Department of Education to be “closed immediately.”
“The Department of Education’s a big con job,” he said.
Trump can’t single-handedly shutter the department. He would need the help of Congress, specifically the U.S. Senate, where he’d need to meet a 60-vote threshold. The president has also acknowledged he would need buy-ins from Congress and teachers’ unions to fulfill his campaign pledge to eliminate the department.
Diminishing the department could have profound effects in Georgia and other states. It budgeted $18.6 billion in Title I funds to schools in high-poverty areas for the 2025 fiscal year. It also budgets $15.7 billion for programs that support students with special needs. It provides student aid for colleges and universities, including Pell Grants. Trump has talked about giving more authority over education to state governments.
The U.S. Department of Education is expected to contribute more than $2.2 billion to Georgia’s public schools for the upcoming fiscal year, according to state budget documents. The University System of Georgia received at least $3.6 billion in federal funding during the 2024 fiscal year, according to an audit.
Congress created the agency for then-President Jimmy Carter more than four decades ago after his campaign promise to gain the support of a teachers union.
Some education advocates are worried that any funding gap could negatively affect families. Aarti Sharma is the vice president of policy and strategy at redefinEd atlanta, a nonprofit that works with schools in under-resourced communities. She’s concerned about families who rely on Title I and special education programs, which provide a variety of support services.
“In special education, (the funds include) getting your special education evaluation to speech therapy to an inclusive classroom,” she said. “If those funds were cut, those would be immediately felt by districts and by students and families.”
Some pundits have speculated that winding down the Department of Education would mean allocating those funds to different departments, such as the Treasury and Justice departments. However, it’s unclear what may happen to other functions within the agency, such as the Office for Civil Rights, which investigates discrimination claims.
Those potential cutbacks worry parents like Lola Green, who runs a nonprofit organization that helps parents of students with special needs. She also has a 9-year-old son who’s on the autism spectrum. He receives occupational and speech therapies as a result, but it’s unclear how — or if — those services will be administered if the department is diminished.
“If we believe all children can learn, how come we’re not helping all children?” she said. “So ... my biggest fear is it’s just all going to crumble down.”
Staff writer Jason Armesto and information from Reuters contributed to this report.
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