President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to begin dismantling the Department of Education.
“We are going to shut it down, and shut it down as quickly as possible," he said to a crowd gathered at the White House that included young children, administration officials and governors.
President Trump argues that the Department of Education has been costly while failing to improve student performance, pointing to declining math and reading scores among 13-year-olds.
The Trump administration believes education decisions are better made at the local level.
"We're going to be returning education, very simply, back to the states where it belongs ... it's a common sense thing to do, and it's going to work,” President Trump said.
The president noted that the federal government would continue to maintain programs related to Pell Grants, Title I and resources for children with special needs.
The Department of Education was established in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter in an effort to make education a national priority, but Republicans have long called for its reform or elimination.
"The budget plan I submit to you ... will realize major savings by dismantling the Departments of Energy and Education," President Ronald Reagan said in his 1982 State of the Union address.
Although the department remained intact throughout the 1980s, calls to reduce or abolish it have persisted for decades.
President Trump campaigned on eliminating the department.
Earlier this month, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon announced plans to reduce the department’s workforce by 50%. Approximately 2,000 employees have left or been terminated since January.
While President Trump may drastically change how the department is run, it cannot be formally closed without congressional approval.
