The Trump administration is advocating for a significant shift in educational oversight, urging the return of control from the federal government to individual states and parents. This initiative is underpinned by concerns over national proficiency scores, with a department spokesperson stating that only three out of every ten students are proficient in math and reading.
"Despite $3 trillion in taxpayer investment in a federal Department of Education, only 3 in 10 students are proficient in reading and math," the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "That is exactly why the Trump Administration is returning education to the states and putting local leaders and parents back into the driver’s seat."
Education Secretary Linda McMahon has been a vocal proponent of decentralizing federal control. Earlier in her tenure, she expressed an intent to dismantle the federal agency by hiring staff dedicated to phasing out their own roles. This message has been amplified through a nationwide tour of local radio stations, where McMahon and other department leaders have engaged directly with millions of parents. The administration describes this as a "hard reset to education," focusing on restoring parental rights, empowering states, and removing perceived ideology from higher education.
McMahon has also conducted a 50-state tour to speak with families about the administration's plan for K-12 schooling, which aims to reduce federal oversight. "As a mother and grandmother, I know firsthand that we only get one opportunity to educate and help our children reach their full God-given potential," McMahon stated. "This 50-state tour has reached millions of families across our great nation, emphasizing the vital role parents play in their child’s life – not bureaucrats in Washington."
The push for state and parental control aligns with President Donald Trump's emphasis on school choice. At a White House event, Trump highlighted the administration's school choice agenda and reiterated promises to empower parents. He also pledged to address what he termed "far-left extremism" in classrooms.
As part of this broader strategy, the administration has promoted the upcoming Education Freedom Tax Credit, set to begin January 1, 2027. This program will offer individual taxpayers a dollar-for-dollar tax credit, up to $1,700, for contributions made to approved scholarship-granting organizations.
The Department of Education has also pursued agreements to downsize its operations. An interagency agreement with the Department of the Treasury is moving student lending operations, including the collection of defaulted federal student loan debt and borrower repayment support, to the Treasury. This follows nine other agency partnerships over the past year, through which certain departmental functions have been shifted to other federal agencies as part of an effort to reduce the department's size and scope. McMahon has previously characterized the agency as primarily a "pass through" for federal funding, suggesting its direct role in curriculum control is often overstated.