in effect
This is Executive Order 14242, signed March 20, 2025. It directs the Secretary of Education to take all necessary steps to close the U.S. Department of Education and return authority over education to the states and local communities, “to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law.” It states the President’s position that federal control of education has failed and that the department’s main functions should be handled by the states.
The Secretary of Education is instructed to facilitate the department’s closure while keeping existing services, programs, and benefits running without interruption. The order does not set any deadlines or name specific programs to eliminate, and it says it must be carried out consistent with existing law and only as far as funding (“appropriations”) allows. Separately, it directs that any federal Department of Education money be conditioned on compliance with federal law and Administration policy — specifically requiring recipients to end programs the order describes as “illegal discrimination” labeled as “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) and programs “promoting gender ideology.” The order also states it creates no new legal rights that anyone can enforce in court. The text cites figures as background — roughly $60 billion in annual federal school funding, about $200 billion spent during the pandemic, and a $1.6 trillion federal student loan portfolio — but does not itself move or reassign those funds.
The Department of Education and its employees are the direct target, including the roughly 1,500-person Office of Federal Student Aid that manages student loans. States and local communities are named as the intended recipients of returned authority, and students and families relying on federal education programs and loans are described as affected. Any organization receiving federal Department of Education funds would be subject to the new condition to terminate DEI and “gender ideology” programs.