President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education, triggering alarm across the country’s school systems and setting up a major legal confrontation.

The order, issued March 20, would eliminate the Department’s core responsibilities and redirect its functions—such as student loans, Pell Grants, and Title I funding—to state governments or other federal agencies. Trump claims the move will “empower parents and local communities”, but educators and civil rights groups argue it will instead result in catastrophic funding gaps and weakened protections for vulnerable students.

Eliminating a federal department requires congressional approval, which Trump has not yet secured. Nevertheless, the administration is moving forward with a deconstruction plan that could preemptively gut essential programs. Teachers’ unions, legal advocates, and members of Congress have promised swift legal action. Randi Weingarten, head of the American Federation of Teachers, responded bluntly: “We’ll see you in court.”

School districts across the country are already preparing for fallout. In Midland, Michigan, Superintendent Penny Miller-Nelson warned that the loss of federal funding would cut deeply into special education, nutrition programs, and support services. “We don’t have the local tax base to replace what we’d lose,” she said. “This would devastate our most at-risk kids.”

The Trump administration argues that the Department, created in 1979, has failed to deliver meaningful results and that its removal would reduce bureaucracy. But critics say this is a smokescreen for a broader attempt to weaken public education and shift power to private interests, including religious and charter school operators.

With the executive order now in place, lawsuits are being drafted and a constitutional challenge is expected within days. Advocates warn that even a partial implementation of the order could destabilize schools across the nation.

Reported by Casey Clearview for The Crustian Daily.