Department of Education

Read more about the actions and functions of the U.S. Department of Education

Explainer

The U.S. Department of Education, in Washington, D.C., pictured on February 21, 2021.
The U.S. Department of Education, Explained
There's a lot of talk—again—about eliminating the U.S. Department of Education. Here's what it does and how it works.
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Image of a box of files
Laura Baker/Education Week + Getty
Federal Opinion ‘None of This Is Abstract’: The Real Harm of Trump’s Ed. Dept. Civil Rights Move
Here’s why families will feel it when student civil rights enforcement moves to the Justice Dept.
Alumni Collective of the U.S. Dept. of Ed., Office for Civil Rights , June 24, 2026
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4 min read
Image of a student's silhouette with a sunrise in it. Overlay is a medical file.
Illustration with Laura Baker/Education Week + Getty
Special Education Opinion Why Moving Special Education Out of the Ed. Dept Will Not Help Students
We shouldn’t redefine special education as a medical service. What to know as it moves to HHS.
Jerell Hill, June 22, 2026
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5 min read
Letters on the Department of Education building are missing after removal of America 250 banners, which included those of Booker T. Washington, Catharine Beecher and Charlie Kirk, March 18, 2026, in Washington.
Letters on the U.S. Department of Education building are missing in this March 18, 2026, photo in Washington. The agency last week announced it's transferring day-to-day management of special education and civil rights enforcement to different Cabinet agencies, the latest push by the Trump administration to dismantle the Education Department.
Allison Robbert/AP Photo
Federal Special Ed. and Civil Rights: What We Know About the Ed. Dept.'s Latest Moves
Special education is moving to HHS, and civil rights enforcement is moving to DOJ.
Mark Lieberman, June 22, 2026
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6 min read
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon outside the White House, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Washington. Today, the U.S. Department of Education approved Indiana’s Returning Education to the States Waiver, empowering Indiana’s education leaders with greater discretion over their federal education dollars and more flexibility to prioritize college and career readiness in Indiana’s high school accountability system on June 16, 2026.
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon outside the White House on June 10, 2026, in Washington. McMahon was in Indiana on Tuesday to announce the state had secured the broadest waiver yet from federal school accountability and funding requirements. It's the third waiver the Trump administration has issued allowing a state relief from federal education requirements.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson /AP
Every Student Succeeds Act Trump Admin. Issues Broadest Waiver Yet on School Accountability, Funding
A third state secured new flexibility on how it spends federal school funds and rates high schools.
Matthew Stone & Stephen Sawchuk, June 16, 2026
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6 min read
A banner featuring a photo of President Donald Trump hangs outside the Department of Justice in Washington on Monday, June 15, 2026.
A banner featuring a photo of President Donald Trump hangs outside the Department of Justice in Washington on Monday, June 15, 2026. The U.S. Department of Education is moving its office for civil rights to the Justice Department as part of a fresh wave of outsourcing.
Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP
Federal Education Department Moves Special Ed. and Civil Rights to Other Agencies
Special education programs help schools serve more than seven million K-12 students with disabilities nationwide.
Mark Lieberman, June 16, 2026
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9 min read
A worker walks amid the Hall of Columns in the House of Representatives at the Capitol in Washington, on Oct. 4, 2023.
A worker walks amid the Hall of Columns in the House of Representatives at the Capitol in Washington, on Oct. 4, 2023. A U.S. House subcommittee has released a budget bill that includes billions of dollars in education cuts.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Education Funding House GOP Endorses Education Cuts as Talks on Trump's Budget Begin
House appropriators want to cut Title I by 9%—a cut President Donald Trump hasn't proposed.
Mark Lieberman, June 4, 2026
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5 min read
Image of blurry data and a school building.
Laura Baker/Education Week + Canva
Federal Interactive Feds Issue a Slimmed-Down Data Release on U.S. Schools
The Condition of Education highlights school enrollment, finance, and graduation data.
Sarah D. Sparks & Maya Riser-Kositsky, May 29, 2026
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3 min read
Image of the white house.
The southern facade of the White House in Washington pictured in September 2024. The White House budget office is holding back more than $2 billion in congressionally approved funds from U.S. Department of Education accounts.
Getty
Education Funding White House Blocks $2 Billion for Education: See All the Affected Programs
We're tracking federal education funding that Trump's federal budget office has stalled.
Mark Lieberman, May 21, 2026
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3 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Federal Opinion How the Institute of Education Sciences Could Better Serve Schools
“It’s been all over the place,” explains the scholar tasked with reimagining IES.
Rick Hess, May 21, 2026
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4 min read
Students attend a 5th grade math class at Lafargue Elementary School in Effie, Louisiana, on Friday, August 22. The state has implemented new professional development requirements for math teachers in grades 4-8 to help improve student achievement and address learning gaps.
Students attend a 5th grade math class in Effie, La., on Aug. 22, 2025. Louisiana has secured new flexibility from the U.S. Department of Education to spend a portion of its federal funds on statewide school improvement activities. It's the second such waiver from Every Student Succeeds Act rules the department has granted under the Trump administration.
Kathleen Flynn for Education Week
Every Student Succeeds Act Trump Admin. OK's Another State's Ask for School Funding Leeway
The Ed. Dept. granted a second request to combine portions of four federal grants into one fund.
Alyson Klein, May 20, 2026
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5 min read
A pencil leaning against the wall. The shadow of a ladder shade reflected on the wall.
Education Week + E+/Getty
Federal Opinion Trump's K-12 Leader: Let’s Improve Assessment Without Sacrificing Accountability
The Ed. Dept. is shrinking the federal footprint but raising academic expectations, says Kirsten Baesler.
Kirsten Baesler, May 15, 2026
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4 min read
Education Secretary Linda McMahon arrives to testify during the House Education and Workforce Committee hearing titled "Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Department of Education," in Rayburn building on Thursday, May 14, 2026.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon arrives to testify during the House Education and Workforce Committee hearing on Thursday, May 14, 2026. She defended the movement of dozens of her department's programs to other agencies and a budget proposal that would eliminate dozens of federal education programs.
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP
Federal 'Creative' or 'Illegal?' Congress Debates Trump's Dismantling of Education Dept.
Republicans praised Linda McMahon for shrinking the federal K-12 footprint. Democrats raised concerns.
Alyson Klein, May 14, 2026
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6 min read
Collage of the Capitol building and McMahon.
Collage with Jason Andrew for Education Week + Canva
Federal Democrats Challenge Plan to Dismantle Office for English Learners
The Education Department notified Congress in February of its plans to dismantle OELA.
Ileana Najarro, May 13, 2026
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6 min read
050626 funding cuts trump schools lieberman fs 2270953986
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Education Funding Trump Holds Back $2 Billion for Education Grants. What Will Happen Next?
The White House is keeping congressionally approved money locked up through a little-known process.
Mark Lieberman, May 6, 2026
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11 min read