The Trump administration is reportedly looking to dismantle the Department of Education.

According to CNN, sources close to the matter stated an executive order is in the works. President Donald Trump’s intentions were present in Project 2025, which is a list of proposals across 900 pages that imposes a conservative agenda, BBC mentions. It was created by the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank, and is supported by more than 100 organizations with a mission “to take down the Deep State and return the government to the people” through policy, personnel, and training, its website notes.

Within the lengthy proposal, it states the closing of the Department of Education. NPR reports Betsy DeVos suggested during Trump’s first term, while she served as the Secretary of Education, that the department should reinvest money benefiting lower income students through the Title I program and instead allocate it towards grants proposed in Project 2025. This signals that the closure of the Department of Education could have bigger ramifications for Black and minority students.

Trump plans to dramatically reduce the department’s function ahead of persuading Congress to align with the executive order to shutter it. If successful in removing the department, this would impact the $1.6 trillion in federal student loan programs being managed by the Department of Education coupled with K-12 school grants, The Washington Post reports. Beyond funding, the department oversees data around enrollment, staffing, and crime in schools, as well as implements civil rights law for schools funded by the federal government. It also manages the special education law, NPR reports.

“This is an assault on every young American who went to public school like me,” Ro Khanna, U.S. representative from California’s 17th congressional district, said during a news conference in San Jose, CA. “This is an assault on every American family who has someone who is disabled and needs the IDEA (The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) program to provide education. This is an assault on every neighborhood in America that has a public school that gets Title 1 funding.”

He continued, “This is an assault on every child who gets school lunches in America. This is an assault on our public teachers across this country. This is an assault on every American who has gotten any federal financial aid to go to vocational school or to go to public college or to get an education like I did. The president does not have the constitutional authority to do this. It is cruelty. It is taking away the bedrock of education in this country.”

The Department of Education was conceived by Congress during Jimmy Carter’s term as president in 1979, and only Congress has the power to dismantle it, according to The Washington Post.

Trump’s actions follow a swift change in higher education that is resulting in institutions announcing alignment with the conservative agenda of dismantling the practice of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Trump’s administration stated in a press release, “DEI creates and then amplifies prejudicial hostility and exacerbates interpersonal conflict,” per ABC News.

Pressures to conform have also prompted colleges such as Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) to remove terms associated with DEI from its website, as AFROTECH™  previously reported.

“In 2023, Georgia Tech made the decision to begin discontinuing DEI programs, which included eliminating positions and realigning funding,” Blair Meeks, a Georgia Tech spokesperson, stated in an email to FOX 5. “As a critical research partner for the federal government, Georgia Tech will ensure compliance with all federal and state rules as well as policies set by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia to continue accelerating American innovation and competitiveness. Efforts to examine and update our web presence are part of this ongoing work.”

Northwestern University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Utah University are other institutions that are following suit.

“Honestly, I just feel disappointed,” Northwestern student Caleb Lee told CBS News.