United States President Donald Trump has signed an executive order calling for the shutdown of the Education Department, fulfilling a campaign promise he made last year.
The order would leave school policy almost entirely in the hands of states and local boards, a prospect that alarms many within the US education system.
"We're gonna shut it down and shut it down as quickly as possible. It's doing us no good," he said speaking at the White House in front of Republicans and a group of schoolchildren.
"We want to return our students to the states."
The president blamed the department for America's lagging academic performance and said states would do a better job.
Eliminating the department altogether would be a cumbersome task, which likely would require an act of Congress.
In the weeks since he took office, the Trump administration already has cut the department's staff in half and overhauled much of the department's work.
He has now directed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to facilitate the department's closure while "continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely".
What does the department of education do?
The agency's main role is financial. Annually, it distributes billions in federal money to colleges and schools and manages the federal student loan portfolio.
Closing the department would mean redistributing each of those duties to another agency.
In the 2024 fiscal year, the Department of Education was allocated $US238 billion ($377 billion) within the federal budget.
That figure is under 2 per cent of the total US federal budget.
The department does not operate US schools, nor does it set curricula — that responsibility belongs to states and local districts.
However, the agency does oversee student loan programs and administers Pell grants that help low-income students attend university.
The Education Department also plays an important regulatory role in services for students, ranging from those with disabilities to low-income and homeless kids.
Federal education money is central to Mr Trump's plans for colleges and schools.
Mr Trump has vowed to cut off federal money for schools and colleges that push "critical race theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content" and to reward states and schools that end teacher tenure and support universal school choice programs.
Federal funding makes up a relatively small portion of public school budgets — roughly 14 per cent.
Colleges and universities are more reliant on it, through research grants along with federal financial aid that helps students pay their tuition.
Mr Trump said his administration would close the department beyond its "core necessities", preserving its responsibilities for Title I funding for low-income schools, Pell grants and money for children with disabilities.
The White House said earlier it would also continue to manage federal student loans.
Court fights ahead
Mr Trump has acknowledged that he would need buy-in from politicians and teachers' unions to fulfill his desire to fully close the department.
Currently, he doesn't have it.
"See you in court," the head of the American Federation of Teachers union, Randi Weingarten, said in a statement.
US senator Patty Murray, a Democrat, said in a statement: "Donald Trump knows perfectly well he can't abolish the Department of Education without Congress — but he understands that if you fire all the staff and smash it to pieces, you might get a similar, devastating result."
[tweet patty]On top of that, a majority of the American public do not support closing the federal education department.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll found last month that respondents opposed shuttering the Department of Education by roughly two to one.
"This is a dark day for the millions of American children who depend on federal funding for a quality education, including those in poor and rural communities with parents who voted for Trump," National Association for the Advancement of Colored People president Derrick Johnson said.
ABC/wires
