The Colorado originally published this story at 4:05 AM MST on Nov 26, 2024.
If President-elect Donald Trump follows through on campaign trail promises to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education, Colorado schools would face a long list of questions about how federal funding would reach their most vulnerable students.
The 45-year-old federal agency, created by Congress, leaves decisions about what students learn up to states and local school districts. But the department plays a significant role in providing schools grant funding to educate students living in poverty, children with disabilities and kids learning English. The department also tracks data related to how students are performing in school and ensures schools that receive federal funds comply with civil rights laws that reinforce equal access to education for all students.
And the department — to be led by Trump’s transition co-chair and former wrestling executive Linda McMahon — administers federal student loans and helps make higher education affordable to students from low-income families through Pell Grants.
Scrapping the agency, which Republican leaders have regularly attempted, including Trump during his first term, requires clearing a high hurdle: the backing of Congress and a supermajority of 60 votes in the Senate, The Washington Post reported.
At least one proposal to dismantle the education department is already on the table, with a bill introduced Thursday in the Senate by Sen. Mike Rounds, a Republican from South Dakota, USA Today reported. A similar GOP effort last year, when Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie added an amendment aimed at closing the department to a broader bill focused on parents’ rights, failed.
What would the end of the federal department mean for Colorado schools?
Read the whole story in the Colorado Sun.
