What Does the Department of Education Actually Do?

News has been swirling for weeks that President Donald Trump is set to sign an Executive Order that attempts to dismantle the Department of Education. The most recent reports indicate that Trump plans to sign an Executive Order on Thursday, directing the new Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin the dismantling. The historic call to end the department is part of the charge that has defined the first few weeks of Trump’s second term. Led by his Department of Government Efficiency [DOGE], under the watchful eye of Elon Musk, the President has made great strides to make the government smaller by implementing major cuts and funding freezes across the board.

On March 11, news came that 50% of the Department of Education is set to be laid off—part of its “final mission,” according to the department’s website, which stated that “impacted department staff will be placed on administrative leave beginning Friday, March 21st.”

Speaking to TIME in early March, Jonathan E. Collins, an assistant professor of political science and education at Columbia University’s Teachers College, said: “We’re more likely to continue to see what we’ve been seeing from the Trump Administration. Gutting all the activity underneath it and basically make it [the Department of Education] a shell of itself.”

Amid concern and confusion as to what the future holds under the Trump Administration, here’s a look at the history of the Department of Education and what it actually does:

When was the Department of Education established?

The origins of the Department of Education can be traced back to 1867, when the first Department of this name was established by Congress. Its charge back then was very different and mostly focused on ​​collecting statistics about schools and disseminating some best educational practices. Due to concern that the department would have too much purview over schools, it was then demoted to an Office of Education under different agencies.

The Department of Education as we know it today was established by Congress in the 1979 “Department of Education Organization Act,” after calls for expanded federal funding in education and “national efforts to help racial minorities, women, people with disabilities and non-English speaking students gain equal access to education,” according to the department’s website. 

How big is the Department of Education?

The Department of Education employed around 4,200 employees last September, according to the Office of Personnel Management, which accounted for about 0.2% of overall federal employment last year—the smallest staff of the 15 Cabinet agencies.

Read More: What Will Happen to Student Loans If the Department of Education Is Closed Down?

What does the Department of Education do?

The Department of Education has many different and varied responsibilities under its current formation and governs many offices including the Federal Student Aid (FSA), Institute of Education Sciences (IES), Office for Civil Rights (OCR), and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS). 

Under the FSA, the Education Department manages the $1.693 trillion outstanding federal student loan balance, as well several student aid programs like the Pell Grant and work study. The department is the largest source of loans for college students.

The department also provides 13.6% of funding for public K-12 education, according to the Education Data Initiative, sending funding streams which include Title I—which describes federal allocation of supplemental financial assistance to school districts/schools with a high percentage of children from low-income families—as well as grants under IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), providing money to districts to serve and teach students with disabilities, and  grants for things like adult rehabilitation services.

The department collects data on education facilities nationwide, and enforces non-discrimination and civil rights laws in federally funded schools, including Title VI and Title IX