Sponsors (38)
Eliminating the Department of Education would reduce federal bureaucracy but poses high risk of disrupting education funding, program oversight, legal clarity, and jobs unless Congress clearly reassigns authorities and secures funding streams.
Taxpayers and the federal government would see a smaller federal bureaucracy because the Department of Education would be eliminated, potentially simplifying executive branch structure and reducing agency-level overhead.
Students, K–12 schools, colleges/universities, and state and local governments could lose coordinated federal enforcement and key grant streams (e.g., Title I, special education), risking interruption of funding and services if programs and grants are not explicitly reauthorized or transferred.
K–12 and higher-education programs that rely on Department of Education oversight, authority, or centralized administration would face major uncertainty because the bill terminates the Department without specifying transfers of programs or legal authorities.
State governments and educational institutions would face legal confusion about existing statutory responsibilities and compliance obligations after the Department of Education is terminated, increasing risk of litigation and inconsistent application of education laws.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Terminates the U.S. Department of Education effective December 31, 2026, without specifying transfers of programs, staff, or legal authority.
Introduced January 31, 2025 by Thomas Massie · Last progress January 31, 2025
Terminates the U.S. Department of Education on December 31, 2026. The bill simply directs the Department to cease to exist on that date but does not say what happens to its programs, employees, funding, or the many federal laws that reference the Department, creating wide legal and operational uncertainty for schools, students, states, and higher education institutions.