What Happens When the Department of Education Is Dismantled: Implications for Fort Worth and Texas Schools

On July 14, 2025, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that a lower court’s order to pause federal layoffs and the dismantling of the Department of Education (DoE) should be overturned (Binkley, 2025; Howe, 2025). The Supreme Court ruling has evoked a sense of fear and concern for public school educators and administrators across the country, not least because there is a lack of general knowledge about the history and functions of the DoE. Educators are concerned that the potential closure of the DoE will create downstream effects, as districts and schools lose desperately needed federal funding. As federal employees are laid off, there is a significant risk that expertise and resources which have taken decades to amass could be irrevocably lost. Barring future legal challenges, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and President Donald Trump are empowered to continue with their planned downsizing and eventual dismantling of the DoE (McMahon, 2025).