US Supreme Court clears way for Trump to dismantle Education Department

The U.S. Supreme Court on July 14 cleared the path for President Donald Trump's administration to continue dismantling the Department of Education, marking a significant victory for the White House’s broader effort to limit federal oversight and shift educational authority to individual states.

In a brief, unsigned order, the Court lifted a lower court injunction that had reinstated nearly 1,400 department employees laid off as part of the administration’s downsizing push. The justices also permitted the administration to proceed with transferring key departmental functions to other federal agencies. The Court’s three liberal members dissented from the decision, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Although the legal challenge continues in lower courts, the ruling enables the administration to advance its controversial plan to reduce the department’s role, a central promise of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. Critics, however, warn that the move could severely impair the delivery of essential education services nationwide.

A coalition of 21 Democratic attorneys general, school districts, and teachers' unions opposed the plan in court, arguing it undermines the department’s ability to fulfil its core mission.

Democracy Forward, a progressive legal advocacy group representing some of the plaintiffs, decried the ruling. The court's action “dealt a devastating blow to this nation's promise of public education for all children," said Skye Perryman, the group’s president and CEO. "We will aggressively pursue every legal option as this case proceeds to ensure that all children in this country have access to the public education they deserve."

The Department of Education, established by Congress in 1979, plays a key role in overseeing student loans, civil rights enforcement in schools, and distributing federal aid to underfunded districts and students with disabilities. While federal law prohibits the department from directing curriculum or staffing decisions—matters handled by state and local authorities—the department has long served as a national watchdog and funding source.

Conservative critics have portrayed the agency as a symbol of government overreach and inefficiency. In March, Trump renewed his long-standing call for the department’s closure, seeking to fulfil a conservative demand to devolve more power to states and reduce federal bureaucracy.

By Vugar Khalilov