President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday instructing U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon to start closing the Department of Education and "return authority over education to the States and local communities.”
Trump’s decision did not come as a surprise – his administration has been slashing the federal workforce and its operations since he took office. The White House revealed its intentions to target the Department of Education with staff and program reductions in early February.
State Superintendent Ryan Walters praised Trump’s latest measure, declaring it a “long-overdue victory for parental rights and local control.”
"For too long, the federal government has weaponized education, using it to push radical, leftist ideology while stripping parents of their rights and directing funds to union bosses," Walters said in a news release.
Walters is a long-time supporter of Trump and continues to push for a Bible mandate in all Oklahoma schools. Since Trump’s election, Walters has voiced his support of getting rid of the federal Department of Education on social media dozens of times.
Along with Walters, Gov. Kevin Stitt has also already voiced his support, in line with his own efforts to cut Oklahoma’s income tax and reduce the number of state employees.
“The federal bureaucracy is out of control. Education belongs to parents – not D.C,” Stitt wrote on X early Friday. “That’s why we applaud President Trump’s plan to cut the federal Department of Education.”
Trump does not have authority to completely dismantle the department without an act of Congress, which created it in 1979. Still, a significant forced downsizing along with deep cuts to the organization that gathers nation-wide academic data have fast-tracked the effort.
Oklahoma party leaders on both sides of the aisle issued press releases responding to the potential complete loss of the federal Educational Department.
House Democratic Leader Cyndi Munson and Senate Democratic Leader Julia Kirt, both Democrats from Oklahoma City, voiced their concerns for the change and the effect it may have on the state of education in Oklahoma, currently ranked 49th nationally.
“I am especially concerned with the future of Oklahoma’s public education system being led by our current State Superintendent, who will be given more power and less accountability,” Munson said. “He will feel even more emboldened to make similar declarations without legislative approval to implement religion in our classrooms, advocate for public dollars going to private schools, and cut programs that help our most vulnerable students who need access to disability services and meal programs.”
Kirt called the news “alarming,” saying swift policy shifts at the state level have already left educators “scrambling to understand what's happening while simultaneously trying to support students and prepare for the upcoming school year.”
Senate Education Committee Chair Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, and Vice Chair Ally Seifried, R-Claremore, said structural changes will help the state.
“I am all for ending the heavy-handed, one-size-fits all approach that has been going on for decades through federal mandates from the U.S. Department of Education,” Pugh said. “Returning more power to the states, with no interruption in services to kids that need it most, will allow more flexibility in education and create innovation.”
“By shifting decision-making authority back to the states, we can cut through federal red tape and empower local leaders, educators and parents to craft policies that best serve their communities,” Seifried added.
Some functions of the Department of Education, including special education resources and collection on student loans, will still continue as functions of other federal agencies.
Copyright 2025 KOSU
