by Xirui Li

NEW YORK, March 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump has steadily weakened the Department of Education, fueling debate over its possible shutdown.

While Trump said such a move would reduce federal interference and cut government spending, critics warn it could exacerbate inequality in resource distribution and disrupt essential federal programs.

"Gutting the Education Department will send class sizes soaring, cut job training programs, make higher education more expensive and out of reach for middle-class families, take away special education services for students with disabilities, and gut student civil rights protections," Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, said in a statement, opposing to the potential shutdown of the department.

"The history of the Education Department is as a civil rights agency, the place that ensures that students with disabilities get the services they need, that English learners get the help they need," said John B. King Jr., former education secretary under Obama and current chancellor of the State University of New York. "Taking that away harms students and families."

While critics see these programs as essential, Trump views them as justification for dismantling the department.

Calling it "a big con job," he has specifically targeted diversity initiatives and federally funded services.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the president was preparing to sign an executive order to dismantle the Education Department. Eliminating the department would require congressional approval and at least 60 votes in the Senate.

Although Trump has not yet officially signed an order to abolish the department, his administration has taken steps to weaken its functions.

On Friday, he signed an executive order revising the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, effectively excluding certain borrowers from federal funding. The PSLF program, which is managed by the Education Department, provides loan relief to public servants.

Under the new order, public servants working for nonprofit organizations deemed to have "a substantial illegal purpose," including those supporting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), pro-Palestinian activism or undocumented immigrants, will no longer be eligible for forgiveness.

On the same day, Trump signed another executive order cutting 400 million U.S. dollars in federal grants to Columbia University, citing the institution's "inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students." Other institutions are also under investigation.

Trump also directed Linda McMahon, the new secretary of education, to "take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Education Department" to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law.

Upon taking office, McMahon pledged to support Trump's vision. "My vision is aligned with the President's: to send education back to the states and empower all parents to choose an excellent education for their children," she said.

In the United States, public schools serving students from kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) are funded through a mix of local, state and federal sources, with proportions varying across and within states. The federal government does not develop curricula or set enrollment and graduation requirements, according to the Department of Education.

Data from a report published in May 2024 by the National Center for Education Statistics showed that only around 11 percent of revenues of public schools were from federal sources. The majority of the funding was from local and state governments, primarily through taxpayer contributions.

Bernie Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, said that shifting some of these responsibilities to state and local governments could increase costs for many families.

"That will mean higher local and state taxes to fill the void," Sanders said at a Thursday press conference organized by the Senate Democrats about the potential dismantling of the Education Department. "In other words, shutting down the Department of Education would be a disaster for low-income and working-class families in every state of our country."

Now, the Education Department oversees approximately 100,000 public schools and 34,000 private schools in the country. However, while federal funding contributes a smaller share to public education, it does not directly control curriculum or educational functions.

"Curriculum is handled by states and local governance -- the Department of Education has historically had no role in setting curriculum," Peter Granville, a fellow at The Century Foundation and expert on higher education, told CBS MoneyWatch. "The primary role of the Department of Education has been as a grantmaker and a loan lender."

The department primarily functions as a financial entity, distributing federal funding to colleges and schools while managing the federal student loan portfolio. It also plays a regulatory role in supporting low-income and disabled students.

The Education Department has also been a key enforcer of civil rights protections -- investigating discrimination cases, issuing LGBTQ+ rights guidance, and monitoring racial and socioeconomic disparities in education.

Now, Trump's push to dismantle the Education Department aligns with his broader agenda to eliminate DEI initiatives from federal governance.

In early February, the department notified over 100 universities and school districts that their teacher training programs would be discontinued due to their inclusion of DEI-related content.

Under Trump's leadership, the Office for Civil Rights has shifted its focus to investigating antisemitism and scrutinizing policies related to transgender issues.

The fate of federal student loans has become a major point of contention in the debate over the department's future.

The Department of Education oversees the 1.6 trillion dollars federal student loan program and manages key financial aid initiatives, including the Pell Grant. It also administers the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which colleges and universities use to determine financial aid eligibility.

Former President Joe Biden made student debt relief a priority, forgiving over 175 billion dollars in loans for more than 4.8 million borrowers through program adjustments, including PSLF.

However, these efforts have faced strong opposition from Republicans, with several GOP-led states filing lawsuits to block loan forgiveness initiatives.

Trump has strongly opposed these relief efforts, calling them illegal and unfair and describing them as a "total catastrophe" that "taunted young people." However, he has not yet outlined a clear alternative plan for managing student debt.

Trump's initiative to close the department is part of a broader cost-cutting effort led by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Elon Musk. DOGE has already canceled more than 900 million dollars in Education Department contracts, according to its official social media account.

While Trump has long advocated for the department's closure, a proposal first pushed by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, he faces opposition within his own party. In 2023, a proposal to eliminate the agency was voted down in the Republican-controlled House. Although 161 Republicans supported the measure, 60 opposed it.

Some Republican lawmakers remain skeptical about a complete shutdown.

"The Department of Education actually has some functions that we think are important," Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, said at the Capitol. "There may be a case for spinning off some programs. There may be a case for downsizing the department. But those are decisions the new secretary should make," she said.

However, others remain in support of abolishing the department. "I support him (Trump) in the fact that we need to abolish the Department of Education, return education to the states, especially for K-12, and gain control of the higher-ed institutions and make them work," Representative Tim Walberg, a Republican from Michigan and chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, said in an interview with Fox News Digital.

The Trump administration is now moving to downsize the department and has proposed reassigning its functions to other federal agencies -- transferring the student loan portfolio to the Department of the Treasury and civil rights enforcement to the Department of Justice. Enditem

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