Updated March 20, 2025

President Trump signed an Executive Order on March 20 directing the Secretary of Education to take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education without interrupting the delivery of services, benefits and programs. Read the full Executive Order here. 

For Immediate Release 

March 12, 2025

Ahead of an expected Executive Order that would dismantle much of the Department of Education, the Trump Administration has taken steps to disrupt its important work. Laying off nearly half of the Department’s dedicated public servants—who lead research into what works, provide support to teachers, and help students access and afford post-secondary education—will negatively impact children, families and educators, both immediately and in the future. NAEYC, in keeping with its mission to promote high quality early learning for each and every child birth through 8, strongly urges the Administration to reconsider and reverse course.

Parents and educators want a Department of Education that supports learners of all ages; provides resources to ensure all children can succeed; and removes barriers that prevent children from accessing a quality education.

The Department cannot legally be eliminated without an act of Congress, but as the Administration begins to move core services out of the Department and eliminates a significant part of the workforce that carry out the Department’s critical functions, we want to provide some clarity on what the Department does, because these are the things that might be impacted:

• Supporting children with or at-risk for developmental delays and disabilities from early childhood through school age, including individualized education programs and support services, access to preschool special education, and access to early intervention services.
• Funding supports for students and families, especially those in low-income communities and those with disabilities, including through increasing access to support services, tutoring, preschool and early learning services, and after-school services.
• Protecting children from race, gender, or disability-based discrimination in public schools.
• Directly supporting educators in growing their expertise and advancing their careers, including through professional development supports and services, access to higher education, grants and scholarships, and student loans.
• Supporting student borrowers with navigating repayment options and accessing loan forgiveness programs.
• Supporting students and student parents in accessing higher education, including through access to campus-based child care programs and work study opportunities.

NAEYC is committed to understanding and sharing how the actions in Washington are impacting children, families, and educators around the country. We hope you will help us in tracking the impacts of these changes in your own communities so if your school or program—or the children and families you serve—faces a loss of funding or loses access to critical services as a result of these or other actions, we encourage you to use our easy-to-use survey form to tell us about that impact so we can help share your experiences and continue to make the case for investing in, not cutting, critical federal supports for children, families, and early childhood educators.