The U.S. Department of Education is moving to reduce its staff by nearly 50% through layoffs, buyouts and terminations. The most consequential move came Tuesday when the department announced layoffs affecting more than 1,300 workers .

This comes as President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive action to “take all necessary steps to facilitate” the closure of the Education Department, according to a draft of the action obtained by several news organizations. It’s a move that carries significant implications for state and local governments, school districts, colleges and universities, as well as families and children who rely on these institutions.

The action instructs newly confirmed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to try to dismantle the agency, which she has committed to do.

Neither the massive planned staff reductions nor closing the department altogether would represent doomsday for American education. Important federal funding could be maintained by other government agencies, as it was before the Department of Education’s creation by Congress in 1979.

But the $79 billion agency, which employed 4,100 people when Trump was inaugurated, oversees federal financial aid for college students and offers key oversight of special education services and civil rights laws that could be at risk.

Backers of the conservative movement to end the department have looked to privatize education by expanding use of public money for students to attend private and religious schools . And they have sought to influence what is taught inside public schools.

So, what exactly are Trump’s plans and how might they affect local education in Illinois?

Here are some answers.

Trump cannot dismantle the Education Department by executive order

Trump cannot just close the Department of Education — or any other federal agency — through an executive order. Congress created the department and would have to shut it down. In addition, the plan would likely include moving some of its core functions to other federal departments.

There are some early efforts in the U.S. House to dissolve the agency, but their prospects for passage are uncertain.

The same goes for Title I, which distributes funding to schools serving high percentages of economically disadvantaged students, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which mandates a free and appropriate public education for children with disabilities. Both laws are administered through the Education Department but were created by Congress and would need to be repealed.

For now, Trump is dramatically reducing staff. The department said Tuesday that it expected its workforce to drop from 4,133 to 2,183 workers.

Staffers in the department’s Office for Civil Rights in Chicago were among those that got layoff notices. That’s according to a veteran staffer who said Chicago was one of several regional Office for Civil Rights sites around the county where most or all positions were eliminated. The office is tasked with enforcing federal civil rights laws in schools. Their last day is supposed to be March 21 . Layoffs elsewhere in the federal government have been contested in court, and some have been reversed. The federal government is considering selling the Loop building that houses the Education Department offices.

Before Tuesday, the Trump administration had already ordered some Education Department employees placed on leave or fired. It had also made cuts, including nearly eliminating the department’s research arm and terminating grant funding for teacher preparation programs, including one in Chicago Public Schools, which is being challenged in court.

Trump could also try to undermine Title 1, IDEA and its work enforcing anti-discrimination laws by proposing to slash their budgets or even eliminating spending altogether. He or Congress could end certain federal grants or rewrite policies or guidelines that remove the federal education oversight the department provides.

At her confirmation hearing , Education Secretary McMahon shared this about potential budget cuts: “It is not the president’s goal to defund the programs. It was only to have it operate more efficiently.” She also said IDEA would not be targeted for cuts.

In addition, in making the layoff announcement Tuesday, McMahon said in a statement that the department “will continue to deliver on all statutory programs that fall under the agency’s purview, including formula funding, student loans, Pell Grants, funding for special needs students, and competitive grantmaking.”

Education Secretary Linda McMahon arrives before President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

Most of the funding for Illinois schools comes from state and local sources — not the federal government

If federal education funding was reduced by Congress or by other means, Illinois and Chicago schools wouldn’t lose the majority of their education money. But they would be hurt.

Most school funding comes from local property taxes and the state.

This school year, for example, federal funding makes up about 16% ($1.3 billion) of the $8.4 billion Chicago Public Schools operating budget.

While some federal grants target adolescent health, career and technical education, and mental health services, the bulk comes through Title I and IDEA. Curtailing that money would mostly harm school districts serving larger shares of students from low-income families or students with disabilities.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker last week said Trump’s plans to dismantle the Education Department would hurt working families. The greatest impact would be felt by rural schools, students with disabilities and students from low-income families who rely on federal grants to pay for college, he said.

“Their focus now is on cutting funding for your children’s school and for everyone in this room,” Pritzker said during a high school visit in Champaign. “This isn’t about efficiency and it isn’t about creating jobs. Trump wants to give a $4.5 trillion tax cut to his billionaire friends.”

Advocates in Illinois are urging the state to step up its commitment to public education.

“We need to stand up and say … ‘This is what we need in the state of Illinois, and we’re going to make [public education] really excellent,’” said Lisa Castillo Richmond, executive director of the Partnership for College Completion.

Curriculum decisions are made locally, but there are ways classrooms could feel the Trump actions

Trump’s views on what should be taught in public schools likely won’t have as big an effect in Chicago or Illinois as in right-leaning states, where curriculum battles have already been underway for several years.

That’s because decisions about school curricula are almost entirely made at the local level.

The Department of Education can issue guidelines, but states, cities and school districts routinely follow their own ideas.

Trump signed an executive order shortly after taking office that seeks to prevent lessons about transgender identities, white privilege and systemic racism, while promoting “patriotic education.” His administration doesn’t have the power to enforce those rules on any local school officials.

State superintendent of education Tony Sanders last month made clear Illinois school districts will continue to teach about the “contributions of all races and cultures to our country.”

“In Illinois, we strive to affirm, uplift, and support all our students and their families,” Sanders wrote in a letter to educators.

The president signed another executive order declaring English as the official language of the United States. The move rescinded a mandate that agencies receiving federal funding must provide services in other languages. But Illinois and Chicago schools officials said they will continue their multilingual offerings.

Trump is threatening to withhold funding for schools that defy his orders. But Title I and IDEA are the two most important federal funding streams, and those are allocated by Congress and through formulas that the executive branch doesn’t have the authority to change on its own.

The White House appears to be challenging that view by welcoming lawsuits that could determine whether the president has the power to stop funding allocated by Congress.

Trump administration threats to cut funding are impacting local universities

Shortly after taking office, Trump issued two executive orders banning diversity, equity and inclusion; these are now on hold through a temporary court injunction.

Meanwhile, the Department of Education issued a “ Dear Colleague letter ” in mid-February, threatening to remove federal funding from colleges and schools that differentiate students by race. The letter itself states it does not have the force of law. It followed up with an FAQ that moderated its positions .

Trump specifically threatened to investigate universities with endowments greater than $1 billion that engage in DEI work. Public and private universities in Illinois receive federal funding through financial aid programs for students and through funding for research.

The University of Chicago, Northwestern University and the University of Illinois System have endowments that qualify. Most but not all Chicago-area universities are holding firm in the face of Trump’s threats.

UIC, UChicago and Dominican University have maintained their offices for diversity, equity and inclusion and related initiatives. Northwestern has systematically removed mentions of DEI from webpages for its library, medical school, college of arts and sciences, and several other departments including the website for the campus Women’s Center. Those changes have come as Northwestern is under increased scrutiny because, the Trump administration claims, the Evanston school has failed to protect Jewish students from antisemitic attacks. The administration made a similar assertion about Columbia University before canceling $400 million in federal funds for the New York City school.

The Trump administration has also advanced drastic cuts to funding for research institutions, which affect universities and affiliated medical centers. Although temporarily blocked by the courts, the flow of grants from federal agencies like the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has slowed to a trickle. The administration has particularly focused on defunding DEI-related research.

This impacts researchers across Illinois, graduate students and would-be students, who are all affected by an environment where current and future funding is deeply uncertain.

At a rally in February, UIC professor Tim Koh, who researches ways to improve healing for people with diabetic wounds, said federal funding for his latest project was expiring, putting the future of his work at risk.

“It’s going to potentially put an end to my research career, and we won’t be able to develop these new therapies for diabetic wounds,” Koh said. “It’s the worst situation that I’ve encountered in my 25-year career.”

Koh’s National Institutes of Health grant has since expired and he said he has gotten no word on his renewal grant application, which he said was favorably reviewed in October. He says he is able to keep his lab going, but not for long.

“I am desperately trying to find ways to pay the salaries of my lab people and keep at least a little research going,” Koh wrote in an email. “We won’t last long unless the renewal grant is funded.”

Dismantling the U.S. Department of Education could make college financial aid harder to get — and decrease the odds of debt cancellation

Illinois residents owe more than $63 billion in federal student loans, which are overseen by the Education Department. Some borrowers were hoping their debt might disappear, but they are probably out of luck.

All together, the department manages more than $1.6 trillion in federal student loans through contracts with third-party loan servicers — and experts say that debt is not going anywhere. Trump has, in general, taken a hard-line stance toward student loan borrowers and loan cancellation.

Instead, if the Department of Education is shut down or further eroded, borrowers could have even fewer options for affordable repayment programs. Loan cancellation, including through programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness, could be delayed or no longer granted. Project 2025, a conservative governing blueprint that laid out a plan for closing the department , recommends that Congress move the student loan program to the Treasury Department.

Illinois residents in college or hoping to go could feel the effects as well. Half of all undergraduates in Illinois receive federal financial aid, according to federal data . One-third rely on the Pell Grant, a federal grant for students from low-income families.

The Department of Education oversees the administration of this aid, which amounts to about $120.8 billion in grants, work-study funds and federal loans awarded nationally each year. That aid is accessed by submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, which is also administered by the Education Department.

Last college application season clarified the impact of an already understaffed Education Department when it launched a new version of the FAFSA, which was supposed to be simpler and easier for students. Instead, glitches in the revamped application shut out some of the country’s most marginalized students .

An even more scaled-down department could lead to delays in distributing federal loans and grants for students.