Education Will Largely Remain Unaffected After Trump's Decision

Trump getting rid of the Department of Education (while bad) wouldn’t completely upend public schools. The main reason is that the federal government only provides about 8-10% of public school funding. The vast majority—around 90%—comes from state and local governments through property taxes and state budgets. So while schools would lose some federal funding, most of their money would still be coming from local sources. That means they wouldn’t just shut down overnight or suddenly lack the resources to function.

Another big point is that curriculum and education policy have always been mostly local decisions. States and school districts set their own standards, choose textbooks, and decide what gets taught in the classroom. The Department of Education offers guidance, and enforces civil rights laws, but it doesn’t control what kids learn on a day-to-day basis. Even without the department, states would still be in charge of their education systems, and local school boards would still be running things. Some programs tied to federal funding, like special education and low-income school support, could take a hit, but the overall structure of public education would remain.

That being said, losing the Department of Education wouldn’t be great, but in the big picture, since the foundation of public school funding and decision-making is local, schools wouldn’t just collapse if the department disappeared. It would create challenges, but it wouldn’t be a total disaster.