House Democrats Denied Entry to Department of Education Amidst Concerns Over Its Future

Recent events have highlighted the ongoing debate surrounding the role and future of the Department of Education. A confrontation occurred when thirty House Democrats were blocked from entering the Department of Education building in Washington, D.C., on February 7, 2025. This incident underscores the deep divisions and concerns regarding the Trump administration's approach to education policy.

The Standoff at the Department of Education

On that Friday morning, the group of Democratic lawmakers sought to meet with acting Education Secretary Denise L. Carter. However, they were met with resistance from a man who identified himself as a federal employee responsible for security. The official did not clearly state the reasons for denying the lawmakers entry, leading to a heated exchange.

Video footage captured the incident, showing a security officer informing the lawmakers that their meeting request had not been "accepted" and that there was "no business purpose" for their visit. Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., questioned whether the man was acting on his own accord or under orders, to which the man simply stated he was doing his job.

The lawmakers, visibly frustrated, asserted their right to enter the building and criticized the Trump administration for a "lack of transparency." They repeatedly insisted that they were members of Congress and posed no threat. Despite their protests, the doors remained locked, preventing them from accessing the building.

Background: Calls for Dismantling the Department of Education

The incident occurred against a backdrop of growing uncertainty about the future of the Department of Education. President Donald Trump and Republicans have long advocated for reducing the department's scope or even shutting it down entirely, arguing that states are better equipped to handle education matters.

Trump has stated his intention for his pick for education secretary, Linda McMahon, to "put herself out of a job." This sentiment aligns with the broader Republican vision of decentralizing education and shifting power back to the states.

Project 2025, a policy blueprint for Trump's potential second term, has adopted the position of eliminating the department and detailed how its various functions might be shifted to other agencies. While abolishing the department altogether would require congressional approval, the administration is exploring executive actions to close offices within the department and transfer key functions.

The Role and Creation of the Department of Education

President Jimmy Carter advocated for the creation of a cabinet-level education department to improve American education and consolidate the various educational programs spread across the federal government. In 1979, Congress created the Department of Education through the Department of Education Organization Act (DEOA), to strengthen the Federal commitment to ensuring access to equal educational opportunity for every individual. The DEOA shifted numerous programs from what is now the Department of Health and Human Services to the newly-created Department of Education, as well as functions from the Department of Labor, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Concerns Over Potential Executive Actions

Legal experts argue that Trump cannot dismantle the Department of Education through executive order alone. Because Congress created the department, only an act of Congress can close it or transfer its functions. Moreover, Congress has mandated that many programs specifically be administered by the Education Department. These programs can only be moved or abolished by an act of Congress.

Several key offices within the Department of Education, such as the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), and Federal Student Aid (FSA), were established by statute and can only be eliminated or have their functions delegated to other agencies through an act of Congress.

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Potential Impacts of Dismantling Key Programs

The potential dismantling or restructuring of the Department of Education has raised significant concerns among educators, parents, and lawmakers. Several specific programs and functions are at risk, including:

Title I-A Funding

Section 204 of the Department of Education Organization Act (DEOA) created the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE). OESE’s is tasked by Congress with administering Title I-A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which provides supplemental funding to low-income school districts. The amount each school district gets depends primarily on local poverty estimates updated annually by the Census Bureau. Reports suggest an Executive Order might try to move Title I-A funding to Health and Human Services (HHS) as “no strings attached” block grants to states, as Project 2025 proposed. However, the president cannot legally do this. Section 301(2) of DEOA authorizes the Secretary of the Education Department to administer the ESEA, including Title I-A. Changing the agency responsible for administering Title I-A would require legislative changes. Title I-A grants can be used for a broad array of programs to improve education quality and help ensure that all children meet state academic standards, preserving state and local authority over education. The ESSA, the most recent major legislative change to K-12 funding, rolled back much of the federal government’s role in education policy and gave new leeway to the states. Project 2025 also proposed phasing out Title I-A funding over the next decade. Eliminating Title I-A funding would have dire consequences for America’s students, particularly schools serving low-income families. Title I-A is the largest source of federal funding for K-12 schools, supplying $18.4 billion in the FY2024 federal budget. This funding goes to every state and supports low-income students in nearly 2 of every 3 public schools. A recent analysis by the Center for American Progress found that eliminating Title I-A “would decimate more than 180,000 teacher positions and negatively affect the academic outcomes of 2.8 million vulnerable students across the country.” Louisiana would experience the greatest loss, with more than 12 percent of its teachers terminated; nearly 10 percent of teacher jobs would be lost in some states, including Alabama, Arizona, Mississippi, and Florida.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was established by Congress in 1975 to ensure children with disabilities receive appropriate educational services. Congress transferred administration of IDEA to the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) at the Education Department when it created the department through the DEOA. IDEA provides federal funding for programs that support special education and early intervention services for over 7 million children with disabilities. Schools receiving IDEA funds must comply with conditions that provide educational and procedural guarantees for children with disabilities and their families, such as the provision of a free appropriate public education. In FY 2024, OSERS distributed over $15 billion in grants to support states, local education authorities, and schools in meeting their obligations to students with disabilities under the IDEA. Reports suggest that the Trump administration is considering moving IDEA funding to HHS and converting the funding to “a no-strings formula block grant […] distributed directly to local education agencies.” As with the administration of Title I-A, changing the agency responsible for administering IDEA would require legislative changes. The proposed changes would severely impact IDEA services, leading to funding disruptions, weakened protections, and inconsistent provision of special needs programs. The funding structure proposed by the Trump administration would remove federal accountability to ensure states and LEAs are using IDEA funding to meet the needs of children with disabilities. Moreover, the chaos created by transferring these services across agencies would disrupt critical support for students with disabilities.

Office for Civil Rights (OCR)

Congress created the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) within the department to protect the rights of students and, when necessary, enforce civil rights in schools. OCR enforces laws that prohibit discrimination in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. This includes discrimination on the basis of disability, race, color, national origin and sex. OCR also collects key civil rights data from schools related to students’ access to educational opportunity through the Civil Rights Data Collection. Through its guidance, investigations, and enforcement, OCR is a resource for students, parents, and schools, and provides a federal backstop to ensure compliance with civil rights laws across the country - so all children can learn free from discrimination, no matter in which state they live. OCR issues guidance and technical assistance to students, families, and schools on their rights and obligations under the civil rights laws it enforces. Students and families are able to file complaints of discrimination directly with OCR, which investigates the allegations and, if concerns are identified, works with the school to remedy any violations and prevent them from recurring. OCR received over 22,000 complaints in the last fiscal year. Situated in the Department of Education - not a prosecutorial agency - OCR is best positioned to work with students and schools to resolve these complaints and help schools come into compliance, creating safer school communities for all. Moving OCR’s work over to the Department of Justice and resolving civil rights complaints only through litigation, as has been speculated, would shift the focus from regulatory compliance to prosecution. At a minimum, this would make it harder for students and families seeking to pursue civil rights violations and would likely introduce barriers to achieving voluntary resolutions with schools.

Federal Student Aid (FSA)

The Department also administers federal student loans and grants, ensuring every student can obtain post-secondary education regardless of financial need. The federal student aid program currently administered by the department was established in large part by the Higher Education Act of 1965, signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson and amended by Congress numerous times over the past sixty years. In 1998, Congress created the office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) to administer student aid. In doing so, Congress directed the department to operate FSA in a specific way, with a particular management structure, compensation system, and goals. Congress mandated that FSA operate within the department itself, with policy set by, and oversight provided by, the Secretary of Education. Today, FSA processes over 17 million applications for aid each year. Department of the Treasury. During Trump’s first term, his administration considered this move, but ultimately did not make any major modifications to the government’s role in administering student loans. Significant changes to FSA could lead to a reduction in or elimination of Congressionally-mandated financial aid programs and loan forgiveness plans, such as the Pell Grant and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Nearly a dozen student loan and federal aid programs administered by the Department of Education are reportedly under consideration for elimination by the Trump administration. These programs have long enjoyed bipartisan support because cuts to financial aid block low-income students from attending college.

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Legal and Political Challenges

An executive order that purports to dismantle the Department of Education or any of its key functions is sure to be challenged in court and subject to significant Congressional oversight. Legal challenges against the Trump administration’s action at the department have already been filed. Democrats in Congress have already expressed outrage at the Trump Administration’s management of the department, most recently when more than a dozen House Democrats were barred from entering the department’s headquarters.

Concerns Expressed by Lawmakers and Educators

During the Friday press conference in front of the Education Department, Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., a former national teacher of the year, asked what would happen to the civil rights of 49 million students, including 7 million students with disabilities, if the Education Department shuts down. She also asked about the $1.6 trillion in student financial aid the department manages.

Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) stated, "The Department was created through an Act of Congress. It cannot be abolished except through an Act of Congress".

Betsy DeVos's Perspective

Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who served in Trump’s first administration, slammed the department and called for a revamp in an opinion piece. "A complete reset begins with ending the failed experiment resident in the Department of Education. The bureaucrats have focused on mandating DEI, when students needed the focus to be on ABC and 123," DeVos wrote. "President Trump and Congress should take their corrosive power away and instead block grant all necessary education funding directly to the states." "This reset must also ensure that no child in America is trapped in a failing school," DeVos added.

The Nation's Report Card

The Nation’s Report Card, which assesses how American students are performing in various subjects, showed seven out of 10 fourth graders are not proficient readers, which is a worse score than the last report card in 2022. The report card noted that reading scores showed "no significant change" since 1992.

Elon Musk's Involvement

Elon Musk, whose Department of Government Efficiency is expected to recommend major spending cuts, became the subject of Democrats’ ire as lawmakers protested against him on Capitol Hill this past Tuesday. In response to lawmakers’ fears, Trump said that Musk "can't do and won't do anything without our approval."

Tech billionaire and so-called “special government employee” Elon Musk posted a meme on his X platform after Trump’s 2024 electoral win in November with a picture of Carter that stated: “In 1979, I created the Department of Education.

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