CASEY RYAN: Yes, American Education Can Survive Just Fine Without Federal Department

Despite President Donald Trump’s plan to dismantle the Department of Education (ED), he is currently using the agency to hold schools promoting antisemitism, gender ideology, and equity, diversity and inclusion (DEI) accountable. This poses a new question that must be addressed. How can the administration continue to hold schools accountable when the department no longer exists?

In recent weeks, the Trump administration through ED cut $400millionin federal funding from Columbia University over incidents of antisemitism, including an anti-Israel encampment in 2024. 

ED then followed bylaunching investigationsinto more than 50 universities for using “racial preferences and stereotypes in education programs and activities” and for “allegedly awarding impermissible race-based scholarships.” The department is clear in that these actions “can result in loss of federal funds.” 

There is concern that the Trump administration may lose its grip on this authority if the department is eliminated or significantly downsized. While this is a legitimate concern, the administration will still have the power to hold bad actors accountable. 

ED is relatively young and was only created in 1980 after then-President Jimmy Carter signedlegislation into law creating the agency. Before then, a separate Office of Education existed from 1867 until that point. 

This office originally servedthe purpose of “providing educational information to the state and local education authorities” with only three people serving as staff at the start. This remainedthe office’s objective until 1965 when then- President Lyndon B. Johnsonsignedthe Elementary and Secondary Education Act into law. 

This new lawincreasedthe federal government’s role in education while reducing local control. The federal government would then account for 8% of public school budgets. Johnson essentially paved the way for what would become today’s Ed by growing the federal government’s role in the education system.