Education Department Overhaul: What It Means for Dallas Schools

The U.S. Education Department is undergoing a significant restructuring as the Trump administration accelerates its plans to dismantle the agency. This major shift involves transferring key grant programs, totaling billions of dollars, to other federal departments, raising questions about the future of education funding and support across the nation, including right here in North Texas.

A Major Step Towards Dismantling the Department

As of November 18, 2025, the U.S. Education Department (ED) has taken a substantial step in its planned dissolution. Following an executive action in March and subsequent job cuts, the administration is now offloading many of its largest grant programs. These moves are being executed through new agreements with other agencies, bypassing the need for direct Congressional approval for these specific transfers.

Grant Programs Shift to New Agencies

Six new agreements effectively move billions of dollars in educational funding. Most notably, the Department of Labor will now oversee some of the largest federal funding streams for K-12 schools, including critical Title I money designated for low-income communities. This change also impacts smaller funding pools for teacher training, English instruction, and TRIO programs, which aid low-income students in pursuing college degrees.

Other departments also gain new responsibilities:

• Health and Human Services will manage grant programs for college-attending parents and foreign medical school accreditation.
• The State Department will take over foreign language programs.
• The Department of Interior will oversee programs for Native American education.

Impact on Dallas and Texas Education

Texas receives billions of dollars from the U.S. Department of Education annually, supporting everything from school operations to programs for students with disabilities. For Dallas ISD and other local districts, the transfer of K-12 grants means their federal funding will now come from the Department of Labor, not the ED. While department officials assert that funding levels set by Congress will continue, concerns remain about potential disruptions and the expertise of new agencies.

This follows previous financial challenges, such as the $22 million gap Dallas ISD faced due to an earlier Trump administration education funding freeze. The long-term implications of these broad departmental changes for state and local education systems like ours are still unfolding.

Concerns and the Administration’s Stance

Opponents of the shake-up, including a union representing ED workers, argue that scattering core functions across various agencies weakens the national mission of supporting students, educators, and families. They worry that other agencies may lack the specialized expertise that schools and families have come to rely on from the Education Department. AFGE Local 252 President Rachel Gittleman stated that the national mission is “weakened when its core functions are scattered.”

Conversely, Education Secretary Linda McMahon views these actions as “bold steps” to dismantle federal education bureaucracy and return control to the states. She asserts that the department, despite its 45 years, has become bloated, pointing to lagging student outcomes, particularly following pandemic restrictions, as justification for its demise.

What Remains and What’s Next

Not all functions of the Education Department are being transferred immediately. The department’s substantial $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio remains in place, as does funding for students with disabilities and the Office for Civil Rights. However, McMahon has indicated that she believes even these areas might be better managed by other federal departments in the future.

Secretary McMahon plans to continue touring the country to highlight local school successes and lobby lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Complete abolition of the department and giving states wider spending flexibility would still require Congressional approval, a task complicated by the bipartisan support many of the department’s core functions have historically enjoyed.

Program Oversight Shift at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• What exactly is happening to the U.S. Education Department?
  The Trump administration is accelerating its plan to dismantle the department by transferring many of its grant programs and functions to other federal agencies like the Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the State Department.
• How will this affect funding for Dallas and Texas schools?
  Federal funding for K-12 schools, including critical Title I money, will now be managed and disbursed by the Department of Labor instead of the U.S. Education Department. While officials say funding levels will remain the same, the change in oversight could lead to administrative adjustments for local districts.
• Will student loan programs be impacted?
  Currently, the Education Department’s $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio and its Office for Civil Rights remain unaffected by these specific transfers.
• Why is the administration making these changes?
  Education Secretary Linda McMahon argues the department has become a “bloated bureaucracy” with lagging student outcomes, and believes these changes will return more control and flexibility to individual states.

For Dallas parents, educators, and students, staying informed about these federal shifts is crucial as they reshape the landscape of educational support and funding that reaches our local communities.

Education Department Dismantled Grants Shift