On March 20, 2025 — two months after he took office on Jan. 20, 2025 — President Donald Trump signed a presidential action, also called an executive order, titled “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities.”
In part, the order says, “The Secretary of Education shall, to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”
Trump signed the order in the East Room of the White House seated at a wooden school desk with the presidential seal on it, surrounded by a diverse group of students also at school desks. After he signed the order, the students held up their copies of the order, which they had personalized. One said, “thank you.” Another included a heart.
The White House first issued this statement, then the executive order, then supporting documentation, concluding with quotes from supporters.
After weeks of rumors and leaks, the rollout of the order was highly orchestrated.
“Education is fundamentally a state responsibility,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in a press release issued by the department. “We will empower states to take charge and advocate for and implement what is best for students, families, and educators in their communities.”Â
“Closing the Department does not mean cutting off funds from those who depend on them,” McMahon assured. “We will continue to support K-12 students, students with special needs, college student borrowers, and others who rely on essential programs. We’re going to follow the law and eliminate the bureaucracy responsibly by working through Congress to ensure a lawful and orderly transition.”
McMahon also spoke to reporters at the White House, and according to the New York Times, she said, “The executive order did not specify what happens with any of the departments within education. So we are looking at where best those those departments can be located.”
Bill Cassidy, the Republican chair of the U.S. Senate”s Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, said, “Since the Department can only be shut down with Congressional approval, I will support the President’s goals by submitting legislation to accomplish this as soon as possible.”
The order and the anticipated legislation, the New York Times says, “sets the stage for a seismic political and legal battle over the federal government’s role in the nation’s schools.”
President Jimmy Carter first signed into law the establishment of the department on Oct. 17, 1979.
Is North Carolina prepared to assume more responsibility?
A lot of money is at stake in North Carolina.
In September 2024, EdNC asked the U.S. Department of Education how much federal funding North Carolina receives through the department.
The following does not even include all of it, and specifically does not include funds awarded to the N.C. Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and other entities on a competitive basis.
Despite assurances from Trump and McMahon that federal dollars will continue to flow and services will not be disrupted, with a total of more than $4.5 billion at stake across the educational continuum in North Carolina, stakeholders are alarmed.
And they are not just alarmed about the closing of the department and the money. The support provided by the federal department is already being missed.
Even before the order, massive cuts to workers at the U.S. Department of Education had even conservative thought leaders concerned.
Dale Chu, an independent consultant on education programs and policy, asked in a recent article, “Are states prepared to assume more responsibility?”
In North Carolina, that’s an important question to ask the courts given the highly anticipated decision in Leandro, the legislature given the funding challenges it is facing because of tax cuts and Hurricane Helene, and Superintendent Mo Green as he begins his tenure as the elected superintendent of public instruction.
Whether state departments of education have the capacity to lead continuous improvement in schools and districts is not a new question and was called into question most recently during the pandemic.
“The reality is that allowing each state to pursue its own education reforms without any meaningful federal guardrails is a risky bet,” writes Chu.
But, he says, it also creates an opportunity, and he points to North Carolina as a state that has led the way before.
“For [state educations agencies] to lead, they must set high expectations and hold schools accountable,” writes Chu.
High performing state departments have a common denominator, he says: “Leaders who fully embrace their role as stewards of student success.”
Green, a Democrat who has said he wants public schools in North Carolina to be the best in the country, is conducting a statewide listening tour that will inform his strategic plan, but his vision is already clear: achieving educational excellence.
Chu says the reversion of federal responsibility will require more.
“That means not just holding authority but using it productively — establishing clear priorities, maintaining high standards and accountability, and working in tandem with governors and state legislators to drive academic improvements,” writes Chu.
Governor Josh Stein, also a Democrat, is a champion for education, and he has also been laying the groundwork for much needed bipartisan cooperation with the Republican-led legislature, which has a working supermajority.
Chu suggests that states that leverage the opportunity created as the federal department of education scales back will have a “unified vision, ensuring education policies [have] both political backing and clear direction.”
“When coordination is lacking,” he says, “SEAs not only face political friction but also struggle with limited capacity to drive change.”
Chu reminds us that historically North Carolina has been among the handful of states where “the most effective education reforms occurred when state leaders worked in concert, as seen with governors like Jim Hunt in North Carolina.”
That history, he says, underscores the importance “of state leadership that actively shapes policy rather than merely reacting to federal mandates.”
Even this one.
Superintendent Green’s response
After Trump signed the executive order, Green issued a statement, noting that the order “has significant implications for North Carolina’s public schools.”
DPI, Green said, “is continuing to monitor federal executive orders and actions, maintain regular communication with districts and schools to understand and assist with immediate needs and concerns, and advocate for continued federal funding without disruptions.”
Green said his commitment to students across North Carolina is “unwaivering.”
“I am confident that by working together — educators, families, communities, and policymakers — we will continue advancing educational excellence for every student in our state,” he said.
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