The Evolution of the U.S. Department of Education

You've probably heard President-elect Donald Trump say he plans to close the Department of Education.

It's the smallest of the cabinet-level federal agencies, with just over 4,000 employees. Its 2024 budget was $275 billion. That's 4 percent of all federal funding.

Trump's plans to completely shutter the department are unlikely to happen. He may, however, make big changes to it, shifting many of its responsibility to other agencies.

But what are those responsibilities exactly? And who carries them out? As part of our series on federal workers, dot Gov, we're diving into the Department of Education today to talk about its functions and what the future president's plans for it mean for the American people.

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