Donald Trump is drafting an executive order that threatens to gut federal resources for students and educators by ELIMINATING the Department of Education. Add your name to STOP this attack on public education!

Dear MoveOn member,

President Donald Trump has wasted no time enacting the worst parts of Project 2025—including eroding public education that millions of families depend on. Tomorrow, Linda McMahon, Trump's nominee for secretary of the Department of Education, will face the Senate in her first step toward securing the position. The confirmation hearing comes on the the heels of news outlets reporting that the Trump administration is drafting an executive order that would initiate the dismantling of the Department of Education. And Trump is clear on her task, saying, "I want her to put herself out of a job [in the] Education Department."¹

McMahon has openly admitted she has no education experience—and clearly no intention of strengthening our education system.² As a charter school and school of choice advocate, she's been tapped by Trump to take away our freedom to learn and enrich the billionaire class.

This is yet another attempt by Trump and Musk to steal resources from our communities, and we have to fight back. Any dissolution of a federal agency requires approval from Congress. Sign and demand members of Congress protect the Department of Education and block any attempts to abolish it.

Eliminating the Department of Education—and the critical services it provides—is extreme, even for Trump. But he has been attacking our education system since Day 1 of his second presidency—from trying to ban "critical race theory" from being taught in schools to removing the Biden administration's Title IX rules on gender identity, sexual orientation, and how sexual assault cases are investigated.^3,4And shortly after, the Trump administration released another executive order aimed at steering public funds toward private schools through expanded voucher programs.⁵ Donald Trump and his allies are making our school systems more dangerous and financially strained. Instead of making schools a place where students can feel safe and supported, they are exposing our students to more discrimination and harm.

And make no mistake about it—something as unpopular as slashing the Department of Education would hurt ALL Americans, but especially in red states that voted for Trump and rely on federal funding for their public schools.⁶ This is a betrayal of taxpayers who deserve to have their hard-earned money go toward improving our communities—not making billionaires even richer.

This is an attack on our families and children—and we won't let it happen without a fight.

Join the more than 66,000 MoveOn members who have signed the petition calling on Congress to BLOCK any attempts to harm students, teachers, and families who depend on strong public schools. Sign the petition and then share with three friends.

–Kelsey, Aliya, Nita, Toni, and the rest of the team

P.S. See our previous email below to learn more about why dismantling the Department of Education would be so detrimental to our communities and country.

Sources:

1. "President Trump says he wants his education secretary to 'put herself out of a job,'" USA Today, February 4, 2025
https://act.moveon.org/go/202643?t=5&akid=424061%2E40999114%2EpwwXXi

2. "The MAGA Think Tank Behind Linda McMahon's Education Agenda," The Nation, January 9, 2025
https://act.moveon.org/go/202644?t=7&akid=424061%2E40999114%2EpwwXXi

3. "Department of Education undoes Biden's Title IX rules on gender," The Hill, January 31, 2025
https://act.moveon.org/go/201986?t=9&akid=424061%2E40999114%2EpwwXXi

4. "Trump's orders take aim at critical race theory and antisemitism on college campuses," Associated Press, January 30, 2025
https://act.moveon.org/go/201987?t=11&akid=424061%2E40999114%2EpwwXXi

5. "Trump executive order seeks to steer federal funds to private school vouchers," Idaho Education News, January 30, 2025
https://act.moveon.org/go/202534?t=13&akid=424061%2E40999114%2EpwwXXi

6. "Trump signs executive orders on school choice and school funding, and combatting antisemitism," CNN, January 29, 2025
https://act.moveon.org/go/201983?t=15&akid=424061%2E40999114%2EpwwXXi

Public education in this country is under attack. And Trump has already made clear his intentions to undermine public education even further at every turn—including the extreme proposal to completely eliminate the Department of Education.

"One other thing I'll be doing very early in the administration is closing up the Department of Education," Trump stated back in 2023, warning that he would be "sending all education and education work and needs back to the states."⁷

And in preparation for Trump's second presidency, conservative, anti-public-education organizations like the American Culture Project are pushing for abolishing the Department of Education to be a priority. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who will be heading the new "Department of Government Efficiency," seem to be on board.⁸ And just weeks after the election, a Republican senator introduced legislation to dismantle the Department of Education.⁹

There are checks and balances in our democracy, and our elected officials are still beholden to their constituents. Trump can't eliminate a federal department without approval from Congress. We have to take action NOW to make it clear to our elected officials that they cannot allow the Department of Education to be abolished.

That's the role of the Department of Education and what's at risk if Trump is successful in abolishing it.

And he won't stop there. Project 2025 has an entire section focused on reshaping—or, more accurately, dismantling—our public education system and a plan to drain all of our resources to reroute to private education. The plan not only includes eliminating the Department of Education but also getting rid of teachers unions, ending federal funding, and gutting any programs that support equity and inclusion, even free school lunch programs and Head Start.¹⁰

K-12 public schools are massively underfunded by more than $150 BILLION annually—meaning educators are continually asked to do more for less, as their own wages stagnate.¹¹ And it's the 30 million students in these underfunded districts that pay the price long-term.¹² This "opportunity gap," as it's called, affects Black children disproportionately, who are three times more likely to reside in districts that are "chronically underfunded."¹³

By sending education "back to the states," Trump will be worsening existing inequities in our public education system. Everyone deserves to have access to a quality education—regardless of who they are or where they live. We have to fight for the future of our children's education. We have to fight to protect the Department of Education.

You're receiving this petition because we thought it might interest you. It was created on MoveOn.org, where anyone can start their own online petitions. You can start your own petition here.

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