Is this the ‘final mission’ for the U.S. Department of Education?

Immediately after being confirmed Monday as the Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon said she was embarking on “a momentous final mission” to eliminate “bureaucratic bloat” and “send education back to the states.”

Meanwhile, McMahon’s boss, President Donald Trump, has said he wants McMahon to “put herself out of a job” and shutter the Department of Education.

Then there were reports that Trump was planning to sign an executive order Thursday possibly aimed at eliminating the department — only to have White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt label such claims: “More Fake News!”

“President Trump is NOT signing an Executive Order on the Department of Education today,” Leavitt wrote on her X account.

But even amid the day’s uncertainty, there remains one certainty: Trump has animus toward the 46-year-old federal agency that allocates funds to broad public education programs such as Title I and others that support low-income students and those with disabilities.

“The Department of Education’s a big con job,” Trump told reporters last month.

Ultimately, abolishing the Education Department would not be McMahon or even Trump’s call. It would require congressional approval.

“President Trump understands that we’ll be working with Congress,” McMahon said during her recent confirmation hearing. “We’d like to do this right.”

But she also offered a stark assessment of the federal department she now directs: “It’s not working.”

How do Utah kids benefit from DOE allocations?

More than 108,000 Utah K-12 students benefit from federal funds allocated by the Department of Education, including Title I money. Those funds aim to help students from low-income families achieve in the classroom.

Officials at the Utah State Board of Education are waiting for formal action from Washington, D.C., before articulating a response to a possible elimination or overhaul of the DOE.

“As of right now, we are not taking any action until we have that order — just because we want to make sure we know exactly what’s going on and how we need to address it,” USBE public affairs director Sharon Turner told the Deseret News on Thursday.

“So not a ton of movement on our front right now.”

What does the Department of Education do?

For starters, the Department of Education does not dictate what educators teach in the classroom. The agency’s primary role is financial.

The department’s largest K-12 task is overseeing implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act, which requires states to monitor their schools’ progress and intervene in poorly performing schools in exchange for federal money, including funding from Title I, an $18.4 billion program, according to Education Week.

The department also administers the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act — a $14.2 billion program that helps schools pay for special education services for students with disabilities.

Those federal programs support services that allow for lower class sizes with additional teaching positions — and pay for social workers and other non-teaching roles in schools.

During his campaign, Trump called for shifting those functions to the states. He has not offered details on how the agency’s core functions of sending federal money to local districts and schools would be handled.

Additionally, as The Washington Post reported, the agency is charged with enforcing civil rights laws that bar discrimination in federally funded schools on the basis of race, sex and other factors.

The National School Lunch Program, which reimburses Utah schools and other states for students receiving free or reduced school meals, is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture — not the DOE.

In higher education, meanwhile, the Education Department oversees the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, and the massive federal student loan and grant programs (the federal direct student loans program has a portfolio of outstanding loans totaling over $1 trillion).

Under President Joe Biden, the Department of Education canceled more than $167 billion in student debt for 4.75 million borrowers, about 10% of those who hold a federal student loan, The New York Times reported.

Trump and other Republicans have opposed that effort in the past, arguing it is an unfair giveaway to the college educated and an overstep of the agency’s authority. The Supreme Court concurred, shutting down some of Biden’s plans.

Dramatic DOE changes already underway

The outright elimination of the Education Department would require cooperation from Congress. But already, the Trump administration has started overhauling much of the department’s work, reported The Associated Press.

Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has cut dozens of contracts it dismissed as “woke” and wasteful.

It also gutted the Institute of Education Sciences, which gathers data on the nation’s academic progress, and the administration has fired or suspended scores of employees, the AP reported.

Federal education money is central to Trump’s plans for colleges and schools.

Trump has vowed to cut off federal money for schools and colleges that push “critical race theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content” — and to reward states and schools that end teacher tenure and support universal school choice programs.

Federal funding makes up a relatively small portion of public school budgets — roughly 14%. Colleges and universities are more reliant on it, through research grants along with federal financial aid that helps students pay their tuition.

Traditionally, the DOE’s Office for Civil Rights conducts investigations and guidance on how civil rights laws should be applied, such as for LGBTQ students and racial minorities.

But Trump, according to the AP, has suggested a different interpretation of the office’s civil rights role.

Under his administration, the department has instructed the office to prioritize complaints of antisemitism and has opened investigations into colleges and school sports leagues for allowing transgender athletes to compete on women’s teams.

Secretary Linda McMahon’s priorities

At her recent confirmation hearing, McMahon said she would preserve core initiatives including Title I money, Pell grants for low-income college students and Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

She added that the goal is not to defund key programs — but to have them “operate more efficiently,” the AP reported.

She also questioned whether some programs should be moved to other agencies.

Enforcement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, she suggested, “may very well rest better” in the Department of Health and Human Services, an agency that already has oversight of disability issues.

The agency’s Office for Civil Rights, she added, could fit better at the Justice Department.