Three Republican senators introduced legislation to eliminate the Department of Education. The bill would codify President Donald Trump’s recent executive order to abolish the agency.
Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Bernie Moreno (R-OH) introduced the bill on Thursday to “terminate the Department of Education.” The department’s final day would be Dec. 31, 2026, according to the proposed legislation.
It is the third time Paul has introduced a bill to end the Education Department after proposing similar legislation in 2020 and 2021. He also aimed for a “broader effort to reform” the nation’s public education system with another bill he introduced, the Support Children Having Open Opportunities for Learning, or SCHOOL, Act.
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“This legislation allows federal education funds to follow students, regardless of whether they are homeschooled or attend public, private, or charter schools,” a release noted about the SCHOOL Act.
The three senators explained their reasons for wanting to close the Education Department.
“There is no constitutional role for the federal government in education, and returning power to the states will empower parents, cut red tape, and give our students the opportunity to receive the best possible education,” Moreno said. “After over 4 decades of Republicans promising to abolish the Department of Education, President Trump and Senate Republicans are finally delivering. This was a key part of what I campaigned on, and I’m proud to join Senator Paul and my colleagues on this long-overdue legislation.”
“In the 45 years since the Department of Education was established, the quality of American public schooling has declined, the cost of college has skyrocketed, and parents and students have come second to administrators and unions,” Lee explained. “Congress should end this unconstitutional federal intrusion into American education and usher in a renaissance of school choice, parental rights, and academic achievement.”
“For too long, Washington bureaucrats have imposed a uniform approach to education, stifling innovation and limiting parental choice,” Paul said. “It’s time to empower families and local leaders to make the best decisions for their students, rather than relying on out-of-touch federal regulators.”
Critics of the Education Department highlight how the amount of taxpayer funds spent on students is among the highest in the world, yet U.S. students’ academic performanceis inferiorto those of other countries. The senators believe their proposal to dismantle the Education Department is the first step in reforming national education and putting the country’s students on a level playing field regarding scholastic performance.
The proposed bill commits to “decentralization and individual freedom, aiming for a high-quality education free from federal interference,” the release noted.
Trump has made dismantling the Education Department a central part of his agenda, signing an executive order on March 20 to fulfill his campaign promise.
“We’re going to shut it down and shut it down as quickly as possible,”Trump said at a White House ceremony to many GOP governors.“It’s doing us no good.”
The administration is already facing a lawsuit over the order, brought by the NAACP and teachers unions. They allege that Trump unlawfully bypassed Congress’s role as the only entity that can abolish the agency.
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Before the order came down, Trump slashed the department’s workforce by half, from roughly 4,200 to 2,100, via layoffs and deferred resignations. In remarks after the signing, he suggested the department’s functions could be absorbed into existing agencies, such as the Treasury Department taking on federal student loan management.
The Office for Civil Rights, which is investigating antisemitism on college campuses, could move to the Department of Justice, and special education programs could be absorbed by the Department of Health and Human Services.
