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Before she became education secretary, Linda McMahon spent four years strategizing President Donald Trump鈥檚 return to the White House. His election was a triumph for conservatives and a chance to unwind decades of what they consider intrusions into state and local education matters.

One year ago today, Trump took the oath of office for a second time and set it all in motion. 

Through executive orders, layoffs and canceled contracts, he and McMahon carried out a frontal assault on a federal agency Congress created in 1979, the U.S. Department of Education.

The nation has experienced 鈥渟ome of the most rapid and likely consequential changes in education policy,鈥� since the mid-1960s, when lawmakers passed the Civil Rights Act and the law creating Title I funding for children in poverty, said Jeffrey Henig, a professor emeritus at Teachers College, Columbia University. Under President George W. Bush, the No Child Left Behind Act further deepened Washington鈥檚 involvement in schools.

But those initiatives used the strength of the federal government to expand educational opportunities for poor and minority students, Henig said, while this administration is turning away from a focus on equity.

The gameplan hasn鈥檛 always gone smoothly. On three occasions, McMahon has called back staff she fired. The department has frozen and unfrozen funds for programs like afterschool care and suspended long-running research projects. To those who have lost their jobs or seen their civil rights complaints ignored, it鈥檚 been a . Others who believe in McMahon鈥檚 鈥溾�� to make the department obsolete say the pain is necessary.

鈥淚 realize it has sometimes been messy, but that鈥檚 inevitable when the federal role has been built up by special interests over six decades,鈥� said Jim Blew, an Education Department official during Trump鈥檚 first term and the co-founder of the conservative Defense of Freedom Institute. McMahon, he said, is 鈥渞eversing that history by relinquishing power.鈥�

The agenda is somewhat paradoxical. McMahon Washington bureaucrats should get out of the way so education can be 鈥渃losest to the child.鈥� But the administration has tried to exert more control over districts that resist Trump鈥檚 orders. The Office for Civil Rights has launched multiple investigations, threatened to pull funding from states and districts with gender-inclusive policies and curbed efforts to improve achievement among minority students.

Blue states, teachers unions and advocacy groups have fought back in court. A notes more than 20 active cases over the administration鈥檚 anti-DEI mandates and eight related to dismantling the department. Several more lawsuits challenge canceled grants and contracts.

Trump鈥檚 crackdown on immigration has been one of the more tangible ways the disruption in D.C. has filtered down to local districts. Some children are afraid to come to school or wait for the bus, while high school students have been swept up in immigration raids. 

Interruptions in funding made it hard for states and districts to plan ahead. But some experts say the long-term financial impact of the Trump 2.0 shake-up may be minimal. Superintendents are more concerned about declining enrollment than which federal department is distributing their money, said Marguerite Roza, the director of the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University. 

鈥淭he second grader still goes to school. The teacher is still there. The district budget looks pretty much identical to what it did before,鈥� she said. 

In addition to firing staff, McMahon is moving the department鈥檚 major functions to other agencies. But the transition of career and technical education programs to the Labor Department has not been without complications, and that program represents just a fraction of the $18 billion budget for Title I, making some state leaders wary of what will come this year.

鈥淚f this is some form of experimental policymaking, I know of no parent who wants their child to be used in an experiment,鈥� Eric Davis, chair of the North Carolina State Board of Education, said at a meeting. 鈥淭his self-inflicted disruption runs counter to the many decades in which the Department of Education was instrumental in improving the education and academic achievement of millions of Americans.鈥�

Here are eight areas where the Trump administration has radically recast the federal role in education in its first 12 months:

The rapidly shrinking Education Department

Eliminating the Department of Education has been a goal of Republicans since President Ronald Reagan first took office in 1981.

They鈥檙e closer than ever to reaching it. The agency is now less than it was a year ago as the administration aims to drastically reduce education鈥檚 federal footprint.

In addition to the more than 1,300 jobs she cut in March, McMahon slashed 450 positions during the seven-week government shutdown in the fall. Congress and a federal judge forced her to reinstate them. But the moratorium on those layoffs runs out Jan. 30, and some who were targeted by that action expect she鈥檒l try to terminate them again. 

鈥淲e’ve never seen an administration so actively hostile to career civil servants,鈥� said one current employee who asked to remain anonymous to protect her job. With more than a decade at the agency, she鈥檚 among those who have been reassigned to handle basic tasks. Some with 鈥�20-plus years of professional experience are doing things like scheduling rooms.鈥� 

McMahon and others who back the administration鈥檚 goal of abolishing the agency say those staffers won鈥檛 be missed. But blue states are challenging the layoffs in court, saying the department performs essential functions, from increasing opportunities for disadvantaged students and protecting civil rights to gathering on the state of the nation鈥檚 schools. 

As she continues to transfer jobs to other agencies, McMahon will hear from early next month on plans to move services for American Indian and other Native students to the Department of the Interior. Advocates are battling to keep her from moving oversight of special education as well, but at a meeting in December, McMahon maintained, 鈥淣othing shall remain,鈥� said Jennifer Coco, the interim executive director of the Center for Learner Equity, who attended the meeting.

Unless Congress makes those moves stick through legislation, a future administration could reverse them. It鈥檚 also unclear whether attempts to reduce staff and rearrange federal oversight 鈥渨ill pass court muster with the many legal challenges underway,鈥� said Patrick McGuinn, a political science and education professor at Drew University in New Jersey.

The year culminated with an event in a small Iowa town in which McMahon granted the state more flexibility to spend $9 million in federal funds. It鈥檚 a preview of how the administration wants to distribute all federal education funds, 鈥渢hrough no-strings-attached block grants,鈥� said Blew, of the Defense of Freedom Institute.

The department is expected to grant more waivers, and whether Democratic or Republican, most state and local education chiefs are relieved that McMahon wants to reduce paperwork, Blew said. Gustavo Balderas, superintendent of the Beaverton, Oregon, schools, agreed.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think you鈥檙e going to find a superintendent who’s going to say, 鈥楪ive me more reporting,鈥� 鈥� he said. 

But some found the news from Iowa underwhelming.

鈥淎fter all of last year鈥檚 public posturing and back-and-forth, it felt like weak sauce,鈥� said Dale Chu, a consultant who focuses on assessment and accountability. It was a 鈥渟ymbolic win for Iowa,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut the jury鈥檚 out as to whether it ultimately makes a difference on student outcomes.鈥�

鈥� Linda Jacobson

Immigration

While the drama unfolds in Washington, Trump’s immigration enforcement actions have hit closer to home. He rolled back longstanding that kept federal immigration agents off school grounds, making K-12 campuses fair game. And despite the Department of Homeland Security鈥檚 claims that it is not targeting students or schools, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol officers have been on or near K-12 campuses across the country ever since, arresting and deporting parents and kids 鈥� often at drop-off and pick-up times.

A federal-agent inspired melee at a Minneapolis high school earlier this month 鈥� hours after an ICE agent fatally shot an unarmed motorist nearby 鈥� prompted a two-day districtwide shutdown. Absenteeism has skyrocketed in heavily patrolled areas throughout the country, and many families have chosen to . Others have joined a nationwide resistance movement.

“Since January 2025, the administration has blanketed communities with ICE agents, which 鈥� predictably 鈥� has only brought chaos, cruelty and violence to our schools,鈥� said Alejandra V谩zquez Baur, a fellow at The Century Foundation, a progressive think tank. 鈥淎nd we anticipate this is just the beginning. This year, education leaders will need to be even more bold to defend their students and the sanctity of the learning environment.”

In some cases, schools and other groups that serve undocumented students have gone underground, scrubbing their locations off their websites and using secure messaging to communicate, fearing any attention from the Trump administration could jeopardize their funding or tax status.

The gutting of the Education Department has left the nation鈥檚 5 million English learners with little oversight 鈥� or as to their . The president, who has espoused an English-only agenda, at one point sought to to support these students.

Undocumented immigrants, banned from Head Start, career and technical education programs and adult education last year, have received a temporary reprieve as related lawsuits are decided. Some states, including Florida and Texas, have rescinded in-state college tuition for those here illegally, keeping education 鈥� the reason so many immigrants cite for coming to America 鈥� out of reach. 

鈥� Jo Napolitano

Students with disabilities 

As the department shrinks, education leaders are especially concerned over how McMahon plans to adhere to the many congressional mandates for oversight of disability services for children in schools.

In December, she told advocates that the Department of Health and Human Services and the Labor Department would most likely be tasked with oversight going forward. That pronouncement means continued uncertainty for schools, said Coco, of the Center for Learner Equity. 

鈥淭here is a sense of fear and chaos in schools,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e already operating on razor-thin margins. What they can neither handle nor sustain is more delays. Or the notion that federal reporting is now getting spread across multiple agencies with multiple streams of paperwork.鈥� 

McMahon said she hoped eventually to let states seek waivers freeing them from guidelines on how funding meant for children with disabilities is to be spent, and how school systems will be held accountable for meeting those children’s needs. Adding to the uncertainty: In October, numerous department staffers with the hard-to-acquire expertise needed to oversee services for students with profound disabilities and particular needs were fired. 

Once the on those mass layoffs lifts at the end of this month, advocates hope they won鈥檛 be terminated again.

鈥淭here is a real disconnect between what鈥檚 mandated in law and what鈥檚 happening,鈥� said Coco. 鈥淧eople are anxious the other shoe is going to drop.鈥� 

鈥� Beth Hawkins

Civil rights

No area of education policy has been upended more by the Trump administration than civil rights. McMahon gutted the office dedicated to resolving discrimination complaints and has focused its remaining resources on fighting antisemitism and restricting transgender students鈥� access to women鈥檚 sports and bathrooms. 

The department has of racism against Black students, advocates say, even as it an investigation into the Green Bay, Wisconsin, school district for allegedly denying tutoring services to a . Meanwhile, the department is tied up in litigation with and that allow trans students to compete on teams and use facilities consistent with their gender identity. 

Conservatives cheered McMahon鈥檚 aggressive posture.

鈥淧arents are overjoyed,鈥� Nicole Neily, president of the advocacy group Defending Education, said on in February, after the Office for Civil Rights launched an investigation into Denver Public Schools for creating . 鈥淔or this to be a priority of the administration, I think, really sets the tone from the top down.鈥�

But others say the move has left victims of discrimination, bullying or sexual assault without a place to turn. 

The department closed seven of 12 regional OCR offices, including Boston鈥檚, which was handling a complaint against a Massachusetts district where a teacher held a involving two Black fifth graders in 2024. 

The district placed the teacher on leave, but 鈥渕ore should have been done for these children, including assemblies to educate all teachers and children on the horrific impact of slavery,鈥� said Marcie Lipsitt, a Michigan-based advocate who filed the complaint. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been radio silence since.鈥�

McMahon brought back more than 250 laid-off OCR employees in December, but some think their job now is closing complaints rather than investigating. Lipsitt said five that she filed on behalf of students with disabilities have been dismissed in the past month. Sandra Hodgin, CEO of Title IX Consulting Group, said when she asked OCR about cases she was working on, she was told ‘We’re no longer looking at those.’ “

McMahon hasn鈥檛 said where she would move OCR if she continues to offload offices to other federal agencies. One calls for the Department of Justice鈥檚 civil rights division to absorb it, but Johnathan Smith, chief of staff and general counsel at the National Center for Youth Law and a former DOJ official, sees ahead.

鈥淭here’s no staff there, either,鈥� he said.

鈥� Linda Jacobson

LGBTQ and DEI issues

Trump鈥檚 policies have affected local school staff as well. His executive orders against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and environmental justice-related work resulted in the elimination of more than $1.5 billion in 鈥渄ivisive鈥� and researching educator effectiveness and retention. In many diverse school systems, the loss of funding meant the immediate shuttering of programs that were graduating large numbers of new educators of color.  

Under the guise of outlawing 鈥済ender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology,鈥� the orders also called for limiting LGBTQ students鈥� rights and eliminating classroom materials referencing slavery, Native American history and sexual harassment and abuse. U.S. law specifically prohibits federal interference in schools鈥� choice of classroom topics and materials.

The breadth and scope of what this administration did in just one year was pretty astonishing.

Naomi Goldberg, executive director, Movement Advancement Project

The Department of Education followed up with guidance saying race-conscious policies or initiatives are considered illegal discrimination. Federal officials did not appeal a court order declaring the letter unlawful.   

With 2026 marking the nation鈥檚 250th anniversary, it鈥檚 likely the administration will become more deliberate about trying to reshape history curricula, said Andre Perry, a senior Brookings fellow. 

鈥淭he first year was about dismantling policy structures,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he second year will be about putting in place things they deem important. [And] schools are going to have to do a lot of these things.鈥�    

The White House also made good last year on Trump鈥檚 campaign promise to curtail the rights of transgender students, issuing an order declaring 鈥渟ex as an immutable binary biological classification.鈥� The administration then demanded that several states stop letting transgender students play sports, and . Last week, OCR launched into 14 school districts, along with three colleges and the state of Hawaii, over those policies.

鈥淭he breadth and scope of what this administration did in just one year was pretty astonishing,鈥� said Naomi Goldberg, executive director of the Movement Advancement Project. 鈥淲hat’s really critical to recognize is how much of it is outside of what agencies typically can do without legislation from Congress, and so much of it violates established case law.鈥�

In 2025, more than 700 anti-LGBTQ bills were introduced in states throughout the country 鈥� but just 90 were enacted, according to the organization鈥檚 .

That relatively low legislative success rate may be one reason the groups behind the push appear to be focusing on state-level ballot measures in 2026, said Goldberg. Measures curtailing trans youth access to medical care and sports will potentially go before voters in Colorado, Maine, Missouri and Washington. 

鈥� Beth Hawkins

Head Start

Head Start, the federally funded preschool program, hasn鈥檛 been immune to funding disruptions and the administration鈥檚 anti-DEI agenda. Officials initially a temporary federal funding freeze. The move led to confusion and closures and served as a warning shot: The early education and support program for low-income children and their families would become a target of Trump’s second term.

Over the next 12 months, the administration continued to delay funding, shuttered five regional offices, fired scores of employees and issued a number of rule changes leading to an ongoing lawsuit. Of particular concern: A ban on any practices perceived to be DEI-related and an unprecedented edict barring enrollment to thousands of kids based on their immigration status. During the prolonged government shutdown, roughly 10,000 kids across 22 programs lost access to services.

Causing further alarm was a  鈥� ultimately scrapped 鈥� that zeroed out funding for Head Start.

Providers got some relief through court orders pausing some policies, but they say the program鈥檚 future under Trump remains precarious. The right-wing Project 2025 playbook, by the president, calls for Head Start鈥檚 elimination. Program foes argue that its $12.2 billion budget is bloated, local centers have been caught up in scandal and Head Start does not produce .

Last year was meant to be a 60th anniversary celebration of the War on Poverty-era program, which has reached more than and their families since its inception. Instead, Head Start has weathered the administration鈥檚 鈥渄eath-by-a-thousand-cuts approach,鈥� said Katie Hamm, deputy assistant secretary for early childhood development under former President Joe Biden.

She worries that in the coming year, 鈥渢he attacks on Head Start will continue,鈥� pointing to a number of already-delayed January grants and ramped-up child care fraud investigations in Minnesota and other states. 

鈥� Amanda Geduld

Research

Others are concerned about losing valuable education data and statistics that guide efforts to improve schools. 

In February, with the Department of Government Efficiency鈥檚 help, officials canceled dozens of contracts through the Institute for Education Sciences, effectively shutting down the department鈥檚 primary knowledge-gathering agency. The following month brought the news that nearly 90% of IES鈥檚 workforce had been terminated. 

A year later, plans to restore that research infrastructure are still murky.

The impact on the world of K鈥�12 research was swift, with major federal contractors and dozens of scholars the return of funds and jobs. Dan Goldhaber, a professor at the University of Washington and frequent recipient of federal research support, said that while he believes the department鈥檚 data collection needed to be brought up to date, the 鈥渢earing down of the institution鈥� had made improvement harder.

“Best-case scenario, this has been incredibly disruptive,鈥� he said. 鈥淓ven if you’re not facing cuts, and your project hasn’t just disappeared, there’s a lot of uncertainty about the future of this work.鈥�

After the barrage of withdrawn funding and reductions in force, Washington issued conflicting messages about the future of IES, with Congress proposing the budget for the organization that the White House requested. Researcher Amber Northern was also to help guide a modernization process, suggesting that the razing may be complete.

Mark Schneider, who led IES during the Biden and first Trump administrations and has become one of the agency鈥檚 most prominent critics, said that while it was easy to void contracts, the true challenge for Trump鈥檚 team would be to design a modern system for K鈥�12 research and development. No plan was yet in evidence, he added.  

“My biggest disappointment is not that DOGE and the department cleaned out the detritus at IES, it鈥檚 that there’s no evidence that they thought enough about how to rebuild,鈥� Schneider remarked. 鈥淭hat, to me, is the loss.鈥�

鈥� Kevin Mahnken

School choice

To the administration, the best judges of school quality are parents. That鈥檚 their chief reason for advancing a bold .  

In July, Trump signed the first national tax credit scholarship program into law, a 鈥溾�� that school choice advocates have long sought. Because it鈥檚 intended to reach students in public schools as well, even prominent Democrats like former Education Secretary Arne Duncan have gotten behind it and urged governors in blue states to participate.

The Educational Choice for Children Act, which kicks in next year, gives taxpayers a $1,700 dollar-for-dollar tax credit when they donate to a nonprofit that awards scholarships. It鈥檚 unlike education savings accounts, which allow parents to use state dollars for tuition or homeschooling expenses. 

But depending on taxpayers to fund the program means scholarship groups will need to recruit multiple donors just to cover private school tuition for one student, said Michael McShane, director of national research at EdChoice, an advocacy organization.

鈥淭hat is a lot of donors and outreach and accounting,鈥� he said. Overall, he gives the administration 鈥渁n incomplete鈥� on its school choice agenda, adding that the Treasury Department鈥檚 upcoming regulations tied to the program 鈥渨ill matter a great deal.鈥�

Choice advocates don鈥檛 want governors to add their own rules, while others want strict accountability on how the funds are spent. Further details of how the program will layer on top of existing private school choice programs will emerge in the coming months. But Norton Rainey, CEO of ACE Scholarships, an organization already operating in multiple states, said the tax credit scholarships will ideally complement state-funded ESAs.

鈥淔or families,鈥� he said, 鈥渢he experience should feel additive rather than confusing.鈥�

If the program primarily serves students already in private schools and opens doors to tutoring and afterschool programs for public school kids, it might not be to public education that some fear. 

鈥淗owever, it is also possible that this program may prompt a portion of public school students to seek enrollment in private schools,鈥� said Kristin Blagg, a researcher at the Urban Institute, a left-leaning think tank. If that鈥檚 the case, she said, states could see 鈥渟ubstantial public school enrollment declines.鈥�

The administration鈥檚 support of private school choice is one way it has aligned itself with Christian conservatives who want religious schools to maintain their admission criteria even if they accept public funds. Many religious schools don鈥檛 accept LGBTQ students, children with disabilities or those from a different faith.

But that鈥檚 not the only way Trump is trying to blur the line between church and state. He supported Oklahoma Catholics in their failed effort to open the nation鈥檚 first religious charter school. The religious right, a key faction of the MAGA movement, has been working to inject the Bible into K-12 public curriculum in several states, and the president announced in September that the Education Department would issue guidance on , which some experts expect to emphasize Christianity.

In mid-May, McMahon supported Trump鈥檚 school choice agenda by announcing an additional $60 million for charters, funds from programs like family engagement centers and educational TV for preschoolers.

She often showcases private and charter schools in her tour stops across the country, like the with a classical model she visited in March.

鈥淪chool choice,鈥� afterwards, 鈥渋s crucial for students and parents to access learning environments that best fit their needs.鈥� 

鈥� Linda Jacobson

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