Trump orders end to Department of Education. What it means for Michigan

• President Donald Trump took further steps to eliminate the Department of Education Thursday 
• Trump said federal Pell grants for college students, Title I funding for low-income districts and funding for students with disabilities would be preserved
• Fully eliminating the Department of Education takes an act of Congress

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday aimed at further dismantling the US Department of Education, continuing a campaign promise to return education governance to the states. 

In the order, Trump directs the Secretary of Education to take steps toward closing the department, which has a $268 billion budget for duties such as administering student loans, investigating civil rights complaints and providing funding for students with disabilities. 

The administration cannot close the department without congressional approval, which is unlikely. But Trump and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon can downsize the department and reduce its mission,  a concept that Michigan House Republicans endorsed Thursday via a resolution passed along party lines.

Democrats and others decried the decision and predicted they will lead to cuts. On Thursday, Trump promised to preserve federal Pell grants for college students, funding for students with disabilities and Title I funding for low-income schools.

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But he said the department is unnecessary and “doing us no good.”

The order directs McMahon to ensure that fund allocations comply with federal law and “administration policy,” including ensuring that any programs that receive funds “terminate illegal discrimination obscured under the label ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ or similar terms and programs promoting gender ideology.” 

Michigan’s state superintendent, Michael Rice, said he doubts “Congress and the American people” will allow Trump to “shutter” the department.

But he said schools are already underfunded and predicted that Trump will attempt to cut funds that could help “students with disabilities, poor children, children experiencing homelessness, English learners, and other children who require more funding to local school districts to educate.” 

Alena Zachery-Ross, superintendent of Ypsilanti Community Schools, told Bridge she’s “disappointed” that Trump is moving forward with his plans but she’s grateful he said he would protect Title I, Pell grants and special education funding. 

She questions whether the state department of education has the capacity to take on more responsibility if the federal government passes duties off to them. 

Zachery-Ross said she’s “uncertain” about the future of federal funding, and wants to know what the federal government considers diversity, equity and inclusion.

Many of Trump’s executive orders have been challenged in court and this executive order likely will be challenged as well.

Here’s what we know so far.

What does the Department of Education do? 

The US Department of Education distributes federal funds to Michigan schools for the Title I program, which provides funding to schools based on how many students are in poverty.  

In fiscal year 2025, Michigan is set to receive $535 million in federal Title I funds, according to a Michigan Department of Education presentation to the state Senate Appropriations Committee Wednesday. 

The federal government also distributes funds for students with disabilities.

In fiscal year 2025, Michigan’s state education budget includes $450 million in federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funds, according to the MDE presentation.

On the higher education side, the federal department manages the federal student aid process which includes the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), Pell grants, public student loans and options for loan repayment and forgiveness.

Why do some people want to get rid of the department?

The Department of Education has long been a target of Republicans, who say Washington is exerting too much control over schools.

Michigan House lawmakers passed a resolution supporting eliminating the federal department Thursday. 

“Far too few kids are receiving the education they deserve, and big government at the federal level has only undermined students, parents and teachers,” said Rep. Tim Kelly, R-Saginaw Township, and a chief sponsor of the resolution. “Throughout its 45-year history, the US Department of Education has been part of the problem, not the solution.”

School choice advocates cheered as well.

“This is going to create a real opportunity to remove federal strings and federal intervention from education,” said Beth DeShone, executive director of the Great Lakes Education Project, a school-choice advocacy group. 

She told Bridge the “best decision-making happens at the local level where our teachers and our students are.”

Democrats are more pessimistic, with some shouting in disapproval after House Republicans passed the resolution without a roll call vote that would allow voters to see how their representative voted.

“This resolution is focused on destroying the very systems that support our kids, teachers and our higher education across the state,” said Rep. Regina Weiss, D-Oak Park. 

Will this affect funding for Michigan schools?

The executive order does not directly cut funding for schools but references the Secretary of Education's duty to ensure all federally funded programs are following the law and the administration’s policies. 

Trump has made cutting spending and shrinking the government a priority.

Since the pandemic, the federal deficit has doubled to nearly $1.8 trillion . Since 2015, the number of federal workers has grown to 3 million from 2.75 million.

What happens to money that is shifting departments?

The full impact of moving core functions of the Department of Education to other federal agencies is unclear. 

Kelly, the state lawmaker, told Bridge it’s a “bit of hypocrisy” for people to be upset about Trump shifting responsibilities to different agencies when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer did the same thing with the Michigan Department of Education. Whitmer created the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential in 2023.

MiLEAP now administers the state’s free pre-K program previously under MDE purview and the state’s portfolio of college aid, previously under the state treasury and labor and economic opportunity departments. 

Will this change what’s taught in Michigan classrooms?

That’s unlikely. The federal government in past years has mandated broad education reforms through programs like No Child Left Behind and the Every Student Succeeds Act and used funding to incentivize adoption of curriculum standards like Common Core. 

But most education policy and funding decisions are made at the local and state level. Individual Michigan school districts are free to choose their curriculum. 

Despite that, Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall on Thursday lauded the possibility of shuttering the education department, citing its potential impact on school curricula.

“We can work together as a state to set these curriculums in a way that will work much better than what we're seeing,” Hall said. “We shouldn't want a great federal bureaucracy that we don't have access to to make these decisions for us.”

Though Trump and McMahon promise to “return education to the states,” both have advocated for changes that would reach into classrooms, from the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion programs to restoring “patriotic education” and civics lessons. 

Late last month, the Department of Education launched an online “End DEI” portal for parents and others to report “illegal discriminatory practices at institutions of learning.”

Will the executive order affect Michigan home schools and private schools?

One possibility is that a greater share of federal education funds will be sent to the states as block grants, with requirements that states offer financial support to children enrolled in private schools or who are home schooled. 

An earlier executive order signed by Trump, directed the federal education department to “prioritize school choice programs in the Department’s discretionary grant programs.” And McMahon’s recent memo to education department employees cited “promoting school choice” as one of the goals of the new administration.

Currently, Michigan offers families the option to enroll in public schools outside their geographic district, as well as enroll in public charter schools. But the state has a constitutional amendment barring public funds for private school tuition. 

What about higher education?  

The Department of Education is a major funder of education research at public universities, and widespread firings within the agency’s grant management teams have raised questions about the fate of that funding.

“They’ve given us very little communication,” said Kevin Stange, professor of public policy and co-director of the University of Michigan’s Education Policy Initiative, which has several research projects funded by the education department.

Stange said his biggest worry is the fate of national educational data collection efforts that the department oversees, such as the Nation’s Report Card or college enrollment statistics. That data is used by state governments, businesses, and education researchers. 

“People point to, as reasons to gut the Department of Education, that children’s reading test scores have been declining for the last couple of years since COVID,” Stange said. “How do we know that? Well, it’s because (the ed department) funded this survey to test kids every year.”

Will this affect financial aid like Pell grants or student loans? 

Trump said Thursday Pell grants, given to students from low-income backgrounds, will be preserved. 

Loan borrowers can also qualify for public service loan forgiveness if they work for a qualifying nonprofit or government. Trump signed an executive order recently calling on McMahon to revise program rules so that “individuals employed by organizations whose activities have a substantial illegal purpose” would not be eligible for loan forgiveness. 

Several Michigan scholarships and financial aid programs interact with federal programs, meaning elimination or disruptions at the federal level could have a ripple effect on the state.