A bill championing Donald Trump’s long-stated goal to abolish the federal Department of Education has officially been introduced in the Senate by Republican Mike Rounds of South Dakota.
The Returning Education to Our States Act proposes redistributing $200 billion in funding and the department’s responsibilities to states and other federal agencies.
“The federal Department of Education has never educated a single student, and it’s long past time to end this bureaucratic department that causes more harm than good,” said Rounds.
The bill outlines plans to reassign federal student loan administration to the Treasury Department, special education protections under IDEA to Health and Human Services, and oversight of international programs like Fulbright-Hays to the State Department.
While Rounds is optimistic about passing the bill through reconciliation with a Republican majority, the legislative hurdles remain steep. Experts warn about the implications of eliminating the department. David DeMatthews, a University of Texas professor, expressed fears about losing federally enforced protections for students with disabilities and marginalized groups, stating, “They want rights if the state is not doing a good job, and all of that comes from the federal special education law.”
Since its inception in 1980, the Department of Education has been a partisan battleground. Trump’s campaign echoed longstanding Republican goals, pledging to dismantle the department, defund schools teaching “critical race theory” or “gender ideology,” and return control to states. Critics argue that abolishing the department risks undoing decades of civil rights advancements, leaving vulnerable students without critical safeguards.
