USAFacts reposted this
With all the headlines surrounding the Department of Education, our team did what we do best: dug into the data to deliver clear, nonpartisan facts. Proud of our small but mighty team!
There’s a lot of buzz around the U.S. Department of Education (ED) – but what does it do? Founded in 1980, the ED primarily funds student financial aid and K-12 programs. It’s the sixth highest-funded federal agency, receiving 4% of all federal funding in 2024 — totaling $268.35 billion. It’s also the smallest of any cabinet-level department with 4,100 full-time employees in 2023. Most ED funds go toward student financial aid ($160.69B), with two main programs supporting college students: Pell Grants and the federal student loan program. The ED’s funding has historically been around 2% of the federal budget. In 2022, federal spending on higher education increased due to debt forgiveness efforts but fell after the Supreme Court overturned the Biden administration’s loan forgiveness plan. According to ED, education is primarily a local and state responsibility rather than a federal one. Elementary and secondary education are mostly funded by local governments, while state governments support higher education.
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6dThe Department was envisioned in the Nixon/Ford administration and was the outgrowth of work done from the Office of Education starting in the 1950’s to make US students more competitive at a time when conflicts raged around the globe. The roots of the office go back to 1860. It will be interesting to see how this goes. Title IX can be administrated by the Justice Department. Grant funding can be administrated by HHS. Both could be maintained by an Office of Education. The core programs won’t go away if the Education Department is disbanded. Shrinking government doesn’t always mean “bad!” Changing from a Department back to an Office and refocusing on competitiveness may be useful! Unfortunately, the public messaging around this is terrible.