President Donald Trump’s executive order calling for the elimination of the U.S. Department of Education was met with uncertainty Friday at some Southern California school districts, where educators and activists worry any federal funding cuts could impact already cash-strapped budgets and threaten programs for disadvantaged students.
Among the most vocal critics of the president’s plan was Alberto M. Carvalho, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District.
“Any significant change at the appropriation level, undermining current funding levels, could prove to be catastrophic in terms of the quality of education kids get,” Carvalho said in a videotaped statement. “It could mean an end to after-school programs, an end to tutorial programs. It could be the loss of a teacher’s aide in a special needs classroom. It could be the end of supper or a snack for after-school programs benefiting kids. That’s what’s at stake.”
The LAUSD, the second-largest school district in the nation with 429,000 students, receives about $1.2 billion in federal funds annually. The largest portion, totaling about $470 million, is earmarked for Title I programs benefiting the “poorest of the poor” in areas where where 85% of the population lives at or below the poverty level, Carvalho said.
About $170 million in federal funds is used by the LAUSD each year for students with disabilities, including those on the autistic spectrum, those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorders and others requiring special assistance.
“Poverty has grown across the country,” Carvalho said. “Homelessness impacting the youth has grown across the country. These federal programs provide stability, support and accelerated learning for thousands of kids in our district, millions of kids across America.”
Carvalho said he is concerned policy shifts from Trump’s executive order will undermine the personal and civil rights of children of color, immigrant students and the LGBTQ community. “There’s so much at stake right now,” he said.
Carvalho also took issue with the argument that it’s better to earmark federal funds for education directly to states through block grants and empower states with local decisions.
“I have news for you, that’s already the reality,” he said. “States receive no more than 4-7% of their budget from the federal government, and the federal government does not determine the adoption of textbooks, the curriculum, the standards or assessments. Those are determined by states and then affirmed by locally elected school boards, so the power and the control over the funding and the decisions regarding curriculum are already at the local level.
“This begs the question, why and why now? And what is the impact long term, directly affecting our kids.”
Trump contends the Department of Education has not improved student outcomes since it was created by Congress in 1979 at the urging of President Jimmy Carter. In 2024, only 39% of the nation’s fourth-graders and 28% of eighth-graders were proficient in math, and only 30% of fourth-graders and 29% of eighth-graders were proficient in reading, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Conservative activists have long supported elimination of the Department of Education, which Trump has assailed as wasteful and responsible for spreading “woke” ideas such as programs to support diversity, equity and inclusion and protections for transgender students.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon explained this week that mandated functions of the department will be transferred to other federal agencies and the states. Students, teachers and parents may not see much impact but it is hard to predict, depending how
“Closing the department does not mean cutting off funds from those who depend on them — we will continue to support K-12 students, students with special needs, college student borrowers and others who rely on essential programs,” McMahon said in a statement after Trump signed the order. “We’re going to follow the law and eliminate the bureaucracy responsibly by working through Congress to ensure a lawful and orderly transition.”
It’s uncertain how the states will distribute federal money the department provides to educate students who are poor, disabled or still learning English and need extra support. School systems with weak property tax bases, including those in rural areas, depend on federal funding for teachers salaries, buses and classroom technology.
Elimination of the Department of Education would require congressional approval.
Trump’s executive order prompted the Public School Defenders Hub, a coalition of more than 35 statewide organizations, to demand Friday that Orange County Department of Education Superintendent Stefan Bean release details of an action plan.
The OCDE serves some of Orange County’s most vulnerable student populations and provides support and mandated fiscal oversight to 28 school districts serving more than 600 schools and approximately 450,000 students.
“Eliminating the Department of Education will have disastrous consequences for millions of families,” said Andy Thorburn, president of the Public School Defenders Hub. “Gutting the Department will impact programs for students with disabilities, lead to larger class sizes, and severely reduce local school budgets. Many qualified students will find higher education out of reach due to the lack of federal loans and grants.”
The OCDE said it is monitoring the impact of the executive order, Bean said in a written response to demands from Public School Defenders Hub.
“While the majority of school funding in California comes from the state, I agree that federal dollars remain essential to supporting our most vulnerable student populations,” Bean said in an email to Public School Defenders Hub obtained by the Southern California News Group. “At this time, we have no indication of changes or disruptions to federal funding for programs supporting students with disabilities or those from low-income families, though funding could be distributed through other federal agencies.”
The Capistrano Unified School District, which serves more than 48,000 students and is the largest district in Orange County, receives about about $27.5 million annually in federal funding. Most of the money is used for student special education and low- income programs and about $6.5 million is used for food and nutrition programs.
If CUSD is forced to make budget reductions due to the elimination of the Department of Education, it will focus on areas that have the least direct impact on students and classrooms, said Ryan K. Burris, a spokesperson the district.
“In the meantime, we continue to advocate for all CUSD students as we work directly with our local, state and federal leaders,” Burris said.
The Irvine Unified School District, which serves more than 35,000 students, also is taking a wait-and-see attitude to the proposed changes, said district spokesperson Annie Brown.
Elsewhere, Trump’s executive order did not seem to be a cause of concern in the Corona-Norco Unified School District, which enrolls more than 50,000 students in Riverside County, said Evita Tapia-Gonzalez, the district’s spokesperson.
“The district remains fiscally stable and fully capable of sustaining current programs and services,” Tapia-Gonzalez said. “Should additional changes occur at the federal or state level, the district remains committed to its long-standing practice of financial prudence while ensuring that students continue to receive a high-quality, world-class education.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.