What the Education Department does, as Trump vows states will 'run education' | Fox News
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#### It's 'shocking' what's happened to education in the US, says Dr. Houman Hemmati

'Fox News @ Night' panelists Jessica Tapia, Dr. Houman Hemmati and Dr. Sheila Nazarian discuss the future of the Education Department and transgender athletes competing in women's sports.

The  (DoEd) is launching discrimination investigations into 45 universities for allegedly engaging in "race-exclusionary practices" within their scholarship and graduate programs.

"The Department is working to reorient civil rights enforcement to ensure all students are protected from illegal discrimination," Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said of the newly launched investigations **.** "Students must be assessed according to merit and accomplishment, not prejudged by the color of their skin. We will not yield on this commitment."

The DoEd enforces  in federally funded schools through its Office for Civil Rights (OCR). As cuts are made to the department, the OCR will continue to "investigate complaints and vigorously enforce federal civil rights laws," Madi Biedermann, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Communications at the Department of Education, said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital.

Other main facets of the department include overseeing some funding, managing student loans, financial aid, and enforcing nondiscrimination policies in schools, while most education itself is dealt with at the state level.





About 92% of all school funding comes from non-federal sources. (iStock | Getty Images)

The department acknowledges that "education is primarily a state and local responsibility in the United States," with about 92% of all school funding coming from non-federal sources.

President  has been making significant cuts to the department as part of his goal to eventually close it "so that the states, instead of bureaucrats working in Washington, can run education." But the administration has said that the cuts that have been made "will not directly impact students and families."

"President Trump’s goal is to cut federal bureaucracy and return education authority to the states because the dollars and decision-making should be closest to students," Savannah Newhouse, a Department of Education spokesperson, told Fox News Digital. "Despite misconceptions, the Department of Education does not control school curricula, decide teacher pay, set who qualifies for student aid and how much they receive, operate schools, or serve as the primary source of funding for schools."

Newhouse added the department seeks "to reduce bureaucratic barriers in education, the federal government will continue to be a partner to provide best practices, investigate discrimination, and ensure states have the tools necessary to help our nation’s students succeed."

One of the largest offices within the department is Federal Student Aid (FSA), which manages the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and provides about $120.8 billion in grants or loans to students each year, the department says.





Secretary of Education Linda McMahon visits "FOX & Friends" at Fox News Channel Studios in New York City on March 7. (Noam Galai)

The Trump administration recently cut nearly half the workforce at the DoEd. Yet, "\o employees working on the FAFSA, student loan servicing, and Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title funds — including formula and discretionary grants programs — were impacted," Biedermann said in a statement.

In its early years, the department made specific requirements when allocating funding to schools, such as requiring higher education institutions to offer a campus drug and alcohol abuse prevention program under the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, which was passed in 1989.

When it comes to federal funds, a contribution of about 8% to education funding, the allocation of some money tends to vary by administration.

A recent study previously reported by Fox News Digital found that under former President Joe Biden, the DoEd spent $1 billion on grants advancing DEI in hiring. The Biden administration reportedly spent $489,883,797 on grants for race-based hiring, $343,337,286 on general DEI programming and $169,301,221 on DEI-based mental health training and programming, according to a report by Parents Defending Education, a right-leaning nonprofit.

Meanwhile, in 2025, the Trump administration slashed hundreds of millions in the department's funding for DEI practices. The president warned that any federally-funded institutions of higher education practicing DEI initiatives could lose their federal dollars.



In Oklahoma, since 2024, all public schools are required to incorporate the Bible and the Ten Commandments into their curricula for grades 5-10. (iStock)

"In Oklahoma, since 2024, all public schools are required to  and the Ten Commandments into their curricula for grades 5-10."

Meanwhile, in 2016, the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) set health education standards for public schools in the state that required children in kindergarten and first grade to learn that "there are many ways to express gender."



Morning sun lights the front of the Department of Education building in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 4. (Kevin Lamarque)

Additionally, the department does not develop curriculum requirements, which are left to the state and local school boards to decide.

In Oklahoma, since 2024, all public schools are required to  and the Ten Commandments into their curricula for grades 5-10.

Meanwhile, in 2016, the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) set health education standards for public schools in the state that required children in kindergarten and first grade to learn that "there are many ways to express gender."

"The federal government provides 10% of the money, but with it effectively sets more than half of policy for public schools," Max Eden, a senior fellow specializing in education at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), told .



Aubrie Spady is a Writer for Fox News Digital.

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