Washington D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce and 2016 National Teacher of the Year, released the following statement regarding the Trump Administration Executive Order to dismantle the Department of Education:
“On March 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order to dismantle the Department of Education. This action by the President is illegal. The Department was created by an act of Congress, and only Congress has the authority to dismantle this or any department.
By signing this Executive Order, President Trump is continuing his unconstitutional crusade to collapse federal agencies and end necessary services to the American people.
It is important to understand what calls for the closure of the Department of Education would mean for local communities. The Department of Education is responsible for protecting the civil rights of students, supporting students from low-income backgrounds, developing and preparing educators, providing resources for English learners, collecting statistics on enrollment, staffing, and crime in schools, and the $1.6 trillion federal student loan program.
The Department of Education is responsible for ensuring 7.5 million students with special needs receive a free and appropriate public education through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Ending federal funding or eliminating the department does not end our legal obligation to provide services to these children with special education needs. Two things will happen: either local communities will have to make hard choices about what other resources they must cut to meet their legal obligation to provide services, or local taxes will increase to replace the funding the federal government will no longer be providing to districts.
The Department of Education does not influence local curriculum, instruction, or instructional materials. Those decisions are already made by state and local boards of education.
This administration has not provided any plans for moving forward, or next steps for how to provide services to the 49 million students who rely on a public education, absent the Department. Further, this EO will increase disparities and cause the greatest harm to students from low income communities.
I will continue to use every legislative lever to push back on the executive overreach of the Trump Administration and Education Secretary Linda McMahon. Our students, public schools and educators deserve better.”