How Trump's order targeting Education Department could affect Washington schools

President Donald Trump was expected to sign an executive order Thursday attempting to shutter the U.S. Department of Education, USA TODAY reported.

The order would direct Trump's education secretary to take "all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the States," USA TODAY reported, citing its review of a White House summary of the directive.

The order would also call for the "uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely," the newspaper reported.

The Education Department was established as a Cabinet-level agency by Congress in 1979 and would not immediately close with Trump's signature because eliminating it would require congressional action, USA TODAY reported.

A White House spokesperson, Harrison Fields, told USA TODAY in a statement that the order "will empower parents, states, and communities to take control and improve outcomes for all students."

Here's what the Education Department does and how the order might affect schools in Washington state:

What does the Education Department do?

While K-12 curricula are largely under the purview of local governments, the Education Department plays a supporting role in K-12 schools through funding. The agency also oversees colleges to ensure legal compliance and federal student aid.

The agency is tasked with the following duties:

• Ensuring K-12 schools comply with federal laws in order to receive funding (federal money makes up approximately a tenth of public school funding). Those laws protect students and teachers from discrimination and guarantee education for those with disabilities.

• Overseeing the country's colleges and universities, most of which receive federal funding, by making sure they comply with federal statutes to ensure equal educational opportunity for students, "regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, disability or age," the Department says.

• Helping students afford college through administering student aid, loans and grants.

• Tracking education outcomes to determine where the most support is needed for students.

How much federal school funding does Washington state receive?

On average, about 7% of Washington state's funding for public education comes from the federal government, according to the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, or OSPI. State money collected through property, business, and sales taxes, among other local taxes, is the largest funding source for the state's K-12 schools, Cascade PBS reported.

However, for some rural school districts in Washington, federal funding makes up more than 30% of the budget. Mount Adams School District in Yakima County gets about 36% of its funding from the federal government, and Keller School District in Keller County gets about 42%, according to OSPI.

Federal funding is "important" because it provides vital support for students with disabilities through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and students in high-poverty areas through Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, OSPI said in an Instagram post. Superintendent Chris Reykdal said funding facilitated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture also supports school meals, the Olympian reported.

How will Trump's order affect funding Washington state school districts?

A White House summary of Trump's Thursday order to further gut the Education Department said the action would ensure "uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely," USA TODAY reported.

Reykdal said Congress has authorized federal funding for students with disabilities, students in high-poverty areas, and school meals, so OSPI was not overly concerned about those streams drying up without further congressional action, the Olympian reported on March 17.

"The Trump administration is very aggressive and typically very out of bounds within their authority, based on what courts are currently ruling on," Reykdal said in remarks to McClatchy, the Olympian reported. "So there isn’t, apparently, an immediate risk, but the bigger one’s certainly going to come from Congress if they take action."

Still, experts say the Trump administration's moves to reduce the number of Education Department employees may have downstream effects on school districts across the U.S. and in Washington state.

That's because lawyers in charge of offering legal advice or "guardrails" to make sure money is being properly delivered to school districts have been part of federal job cuts, NPR reported.

"That will have very negative effects on communities around the country that currently don't really even understand that their child's (special education), or the supports that they receive for their child, are directly connected to the U.S. Department of Education," Patrice Willoughby, chief of policy and legislative affairs at the NAACP, told NPR.

Washington senator blasts Trump's moves on Education Department

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said in a series of X posts Thursday that Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, have taken a "wrecking ball" to the Education Department. Murray said Trump's moves could mean "school districts having to lay off teachers, students & families unable to get help with financial aid, & even local tax rates going UP."

Murray added that layoffs at the Education Department may lead to "serious consequences for kids with disabilities, our public schools, and programs like Pell Grants."

A federal Pell Grant is a form of higher education student aid that does not typically need to be repaid, according to the Education Department. It is for undergraduate students who "display exceptional financial need."

On March 11, the Education Department announced that it was placing more than 1,300 employees on administrative leave effective March 21. The agency's "reduction in force" efforts also include those who accepted voluntary resignation and retirement offers and have affected nearly 50% of the department's workforce, reducing the number of workers from about 4,100 to about 2,180.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement at the time that the job cuts reflect "the Department of Education’s commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers."

Washington State Attorney General Nick and other Democratic state attorneys general announced on March 13 that they were suing the Trump administration to try to stop the gutting of the Education Department. In a statement, Brown called Trump's cuts "illegal" and lamented the possible effects on "young people and families that can least afford it."

The New York Times reported that Fields, the White House spokesperson, said Trump's executive actions are legal and meant to follow through on pledges made on the campaign trail. "Partisan elected officials and judicial activists who seek to legally obstruct President Trump’s agenda are defying the will of 77 million Americans who overwhelmingly re-elected President Trump, and their efforts will fail," the spokesperson said, according to the Times.

Elsewhere, U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., praised a plan by the Trump administration to suspend about $175 million in federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania over the participation of a transgender athlete in the school's swimming program, 770 KTTH reported.

Newhouse told the radio station that Washington schools could face similar losses in funding over the issue.

Contributing: Kinsey Crowley, Joey Garrison, Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: How Trump's order to gut Education Department affects Washington state