What the Department of Education Does
The U.S. Department of Education sends federal money to schools, colleges and students, and it enforces civil rights laws in education. Congress created it as a cabinet department in 1979 (20 U.S.C. 3411). States and school districts run schools, hire teachers and choose curriculum. The department pays for specific programs, most of them for students from low-income families, students with disabilities and college students.
Key facts
- In fiscal 2025 the department obligated $50.4 billion for student aid such as Pell Grants and $15.5 billion for special education (USAspending). Title I grants to school districts were $18.4 billion (Education Department budget table).
- A March 2025 executive order told the secretary to facilitate the department’s closure as far as the law allows (Executive Order 14242).
- Staff fell from 4,133 to about 2,183 after the March 2025 layoffs and buyouts, a cut of about 47% (Education Department).
- By June 2026 the department had announced 14 agreements moving program work to 6 other agencies (K-12 Dive).
- $50.4 billion
- Student aid grants such as Pell, fiscal 2025
- $18.4 billion
- Title I grants to school districts, fiscal 2025
- 47%
- Staff cut by March 2025 layoffs and buyouts
- 14
- Agreements moving work to other agencies
Where the Money Goes
Most of the department’s money goes out as grants and aid, and three accounts are most of it: student aid, Education for the Disadvantaged (mostly Title I) and special education. The figures below are fiscal 2025 obligations, the money the department committed to spend, from Treasury data published on USAspending (USAspending).
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Student Financial Assistance | $50.38 |
| Education for the Disadvantaged | $19.16 |
| Special Education | $15.46 |
| School Improvement Programs | $5.79 |
| Rehabilitation Services | $4.28 |
| Higher Education | $3.23 |
| Career, Technical, and Adult Education | $2.52 |
| Impact Aid | $1.65 |
| Innovation and Improvement | $1.19 |
| English Language Acquisition | $0.88 |
Source: USAspending, obligations by federal account, fiscal 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025). The ten largest grant and aid accounts. The direct student loan account, $67.9 billion in obligations, is left out because loans are repaid, as are the older guaranteed loan account and student aid administration.
What the biggest accounts pay for
Source: USAspending, obligations by federal account, fiscal 2025. Descriptions by Resist Now.
The student loan program is the largest single account, $67.9 billion in fiscal 2025 obligations. Our student loan forgiveness guide covers what borrowers owe and which forgiveness programs still work.
Is the Department of Education Closed?
No. The Department of Education still exists and still pays out grants and aid, but it is much smaller and other agencies now help run many of its programs. Only Congress can abolish a department created by statute. Executive Order 14242, signed March 20, 2025, directs the secretary, “to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law,” to "take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities" (Federal Register).
- Layoffs announced The department says layoffs and nearly 600 buyouts and retirements take it from 4,133 employees to about 2,183. (source)
- Executive order Executive Order 14242 directs the secretary to facilitate closing the department. (source)
- First agreement with Labor Adult education and career and technical education grant work moves to the Labor Department. (source)
- Supreme Court lets layoffs proceed By 6-3, the Court stays a lower-court order that had blocked the layoffs. (source)
- Layoff injunction vacated After the appeal was dismissed, the district court vacates its injunctions at the government's request, with the plaintiffs agreeing. (source)
- Shutdown layoff notices 466 more employees get layoff notices during the government shutdown. (source)
- Six agreements move programs K-12 and postsecondary grant work goes to Labor; other programs to Interior, HHS and State. (source)
- Shutdown layoffs dropped The administration abandons the shutdown-era layoffs and withdraws its appeal. (source)
- Two more agreements Family engagement and school support grants go to HHS; foreign gift reporting for colleges goes to State. (source)
- Student loans to Treasury Treasury takes over collecting defaulted student loans first. Later phases cover servicing other loans and a review of FAFSA administration. (source)
- Special education and civil rights move Four more agreements give HHS administrative work on special education grants and bring Justice into civil rights enforcement, student privacy and desegregation assistance. (source)
Sources: the Education Department (March 11, 2025 release and the Treasury agreement), K-12 Dive, the Federal Register, the Supreme Court, the district court docket and McGuireWoods.
How the department has been taken apart, 2025 to 2026: Mar 11, 2025: Layoffs announced (The department says layoffs and nearly 600 buyouts and retirements take it from 4,133 employees to about 2,183.). Mar 20, 2025: Executive order (Executive Order 14242 directs the secretary to facilitate closing the department.). May 21, 2025: First agreement with Labor (Adult education and career and technical education grant work moves to the Labor Department.). Jul 14, 2025: Supreme Court lets layoffs proceed (By 6-3, the Court stays a lower-court order that had blocked the layoffs.). Oct 1, 2025: Layoff injunction vacated (After the appeal was dismissed, the district court vacates its injunctions at the government's request, with the plaintiffs agreeing.). Oct 10, 2025: Shutdown layoff notices (466 more employees get layoff notices during the government shutdown.). Nov 18, 2025: Six agreements move programs (K-12 and postsecondary grant work goes to Labor; other programs to Interior, HHS and State.). Jan 2, 2026: Shutdown layoffs dropped (The administration abandons the shutdown-era layoffs and withdraws its appeal.). Feb 23, 2026: Two more agreements (Family engagement and school support grants go to HHS; foreign gift reporting for colleges goes to State.). Mar 19, 2026: Student loans to Treasury (Treasury takes over collecting defaulted student loans first. Later phases cover servicing other loans and a review of FAFSA administration.). Jun 16, 2026: Special education and civil rights move (Four more agreements give HHS administrative work on special education grants and bring Justice into civil rights enforcement, student privacy and desegregation assistance.).
The courts let the layoffs go forward. A federal judge in Massachusetts blocked the March 2025 layoffs in May 2025. On July 14, 2025, the Supreme Court stayed that order in McMahon v. New York, which allowed the cuts to proceed (Supreme Court docket 24A1203). The vote was 6-3. Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson, dissented: “Only Congress has the power to abolish the Department” (order and dissent). The appeal was dismissed in September 2025, and on October 1, 2025, the district court vacated its injunctions at the government’s request, with the plaintiffs agreeing (court docket).
A second round of 466 layoff notices came during the fall 2025 shutdown. The November 2025 funding law rescinded them, and in January 2026 the administration dropped its appeal of a court order against them (K-12 Dive).
Who Runs Education Programs Now
Since May 2025, the department has used interagency agreements to hand day-to-day work on many programs to other departments. It keeps legal responsibility for them. The Congressional Research Service says the department appears to rely mainly on the Economy Act, a law that lets one agency buy services from another (CRS).
Education Department work moved to other agencies
The transfers are in court. School districts, labor unions and states sued in federal court in Massachusetts in March 2025. In November 2025 and January 2026 they amended their complaints to challenge the agreements on constitutional and statutory grounds (CRS). No ruling on the agreements had been issued by October 14, 2026; discovery runs through October 30 (court docket). The department says the partnerships improve coordination among agencies. Critics say splitting programs among agencies creates confusion (K-12 Dive).
Federal Education Money in Your State
In fiscal 2025 the department obligated about $50.5 billion in grants across the states and D.C., a median of $152 per resident. Per person, Alaska got the most, $536, and Colorado got the least, $110 (USAspending).
Grant obligations per resident
- $250 or more (6 states)
- $175 to $249 (11 states)
- $140 to $174 (17 states)
- Under $140 (16 states)
Source: USAspending, Department of Education grant obligations by place of performance, fiscal 2025, pulled September 30, 2026. Per-person figures use USAspending's population base. Grants only; loans are not included.
| State | Grants, fiscal 2025 | Per resident |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $924 million | $184 |
| Alaska | $393 million | $536 |
| Arizona | $1.05 billion | $147 |
| Arkansas | $542 million | $180 |
| California | $5.65 billion | $143 |
| Colorado | $635 million | $110 |
| Connecticut | $458 million | $127 |
| Delaware | $174 million | $176 |
| District of Columbia | $481 million | $697 |
| Florida | $2.64 billion | $123 |
| Georgia | $1.60 billion | $150 |
| Hawaii | $310 million | $213 |
| Idaho | $262 million | $142 |
| Illinois | $1.97 billion | $154 |
| Indiana | $900 million | $133 |
| Iowa | $416 million | $131 |
| Kansas | $451 million | $154 |
| Kentucky | $852 million | $189 |
| Louisiana | $981 million | $211 |
| Maine | $212 million | $156 |
| Maryland | $937 million | $152 |
| Massachusetts | $900 million | $128 |
| Michigan | $1.48 billion | $147 |
| Minnesota | $681 million | $119 |
| Mississippi | $645 million | $218 |
| Missouri | $862 million | $140 |
| Montana | $310 million | $286 |
| Nebraska | $325 million | $166 |
| Nevada | $409 million | $132 |
| New Hampshire | $158 million | $115 |
| New Jersey | $1.25 billion | $134 |
| New Mexico | $552 million | $261 |
| New York | $3.33 billion | $165 |
| North Carolina | $1.59 billion | $152 |
| North Dakota | $237 million | $304 |
| Ohio | $1.75 billion | $148 |
| Oklahoma | $791 million | $200 |
| Oregon | $580 million | $137 |
| Pennsylvania | $1.79 billion | $138 |
| Rhode Island | $200 million | $182 |
| South Carolina | $824 million | $161 |
| South Dakota | $296 million | $334 |
| Tennessee | $1.00 billion | $145 |
| Texas | $4.75 billion | $163 |
| Utah | $381 million | $116 |
| Vermont | $135 million | $210 |
| Virginia | $1.15 billion | $133 |
| Washington | $1.02 billion | $133 |
| West Virginia | $332 million | $185 |
| Wisconsin | $780 million | $132 |
| Wyoming | $166 million | $288 |
Where to Go for FAFSA, Loans and Complaints
The FAFSA and federal student loans still run through studentaid.gov, and civil rights complaints still go to the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights. What changed is who does the work behind them.
What to do, by situation
You are applying for college aid
- File the FAFSA at studentaid.gov, as before.
- Check each college's own aid deadline, which can come before the federal one.
- Keep copies of every confirmation page.
A March 2026 agreement says Treasury may later review how the FAFSA is run, but the form is still filed through studentaid.gov.
You have federal student loans
- Log in to studentaid.gov to see your loans and your servicer.
- Read any notice about a change in who manages your loans before you change how you pay.
- See our student loan forgiveness guide for which plans are still open.
Under a March 2026 agreement, Treasury takes over collecting defaulted loans first and may later service other federal loans.
Your child's school discriminated against them
- Write down what happened, with dates and names.
- File a complaint with the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights within 180 days.
- Keep copies of every email and letter from the school.
Federal rules require most complaints within 180 days of the discrimination unless the deadline is extended (34 CFR 100.7).
Your school district is losing federal money
- Ask the district which federal programs it expects to change, in writing or at a board meeting.
- Contact your members of Congress, who set the programs' funding.
Congress sets funding for the grant programs written into federal law.
General information, not legal advice.
Our school vouchers guide covers the other big shift in education funding, and our Title IX guide covers sex discrimination in schools.
Department of Education Questions
What does the Department of Education do?
The U.S. Department of Education sends federal money to schools, colleges and students and enforces civil rights laws in education. In fiscal 2025 it obligated $50.4 billion for student aid such as Pell Grants and $15.5 billion for special education, and its budget set Title I grants to school districts at $18.4 billion. States and school districts, not the department, run schools and set curriculum.
Is the Department of Education closed?
No. The department was created by a 1979 law, and it still exists and still pays out grants and student aid. A March 2025 executive order told the secretary to facilitate its closure as far as the law allows, and since then the department has lost about half its staff and moved much of its program work to 6 other agencies through 14 agreements, while keeping legal responsibility for the programs.
Why is the Department of Education being shut down?
The administration says it wants to return authority over education to states and local communities. Executive Order 14242 directs the secretary to facilitate the closure of the department while ensuring that services and benefits continue without interruption. School districts, labor unions and states have sued over the layoffs and the transfers.
What happens to student loans and the FAFSA?
Loans are still owed and still serviced, and the FAFSA is still filed through studentaid.gov. Under a March 2026 agreement, the Treasury Department first takes over collecting defaulted student loans. Later phases would have Treasury service other federal loans where practicable and review the rules for student aid eligibility, including how the FAFSA is run. Watch for notices about any change in where you pay.
Where do I file a civil rights complaint about a school?
Complaints about discrimination at a school or college that gets federal money go to the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights. Under its rules, a complaint must be filed within 180 days of the discrimination unless the office extends the deadline. Under a June 2026 agreement, the Justice Department works alongside the Office for Civil Rights on enforcement, and the department said the change would not affect people filing complaints.
How much federal education money does my state get?
In fiscal 2025 the department obligated about $50.5 billion in grants across the 50 states and D.C. The typical state got about $152 per resident. The map on this page shows every state’s total and per-person figure.
What You Can Do
- File the FAFSA and keep your loan information current at studentaid.gov.
- Know the civil rights deadline: 180 days from the discrimination (34 CFR 100.7).
- Ask your school board which federal programs your district uses and what it expects to change.
- Contact your members of Congress. Only Congress can close the department or change program funding.
- Read the related guides: student loan forgiveness and school vouchers.