Nevada Democrats vow to fight move to dissolve Education Department

Editor's note: Este artículo está traducido al español.

Nevada’s congressional Democrats are vowing to stand in the way of the legislative approvals needed to formally abolish the U.S. Department of Education.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday directing the secretary of education to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the states and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs and benefits on which Americans rely.”

The order, which is in line with a Trump campaign promise and the Project 2025 conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term, does not directly turn out the lights and lock the doors at the Education Department.

Leading up to the order, the Trump administration had terminated or given buyouts to half of the agency’s staff. But the president cannot unilaterally abolish the agency outright — constitutionally, Congress must approve the closure of a Cabinet agency.

That includes a supermajority of the Senate. And to achieve that, all Republicans and several Democrats would have to go along.

In a statement Thursday, Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., said she wouldn’t be one of them.

“This shameful move is going to hurt Nevada students by putting the programs they rely on most … on the chopping block,” she said. “It threatens our kids’ future, and I’ll push back against this illegal attempt to dismantle our education system.”

U.S. Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., wrote on social media that the order “is about taking money from our most at-risk students so Trump can reward his wealthy friends with tax breaks.”

“It’s disgusting. I’ve spent my career fighting for kids and we will fight this illegal action,” she said.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., whose father, longtime Clark County Commissioner Manny Cortez, has an elementary school named in his honor in east Las Vegas, said Trump’s target on the Department of Education puts children last.

“Gutting the Department of Education could cut teacher pay, eliminate special education programs, and leave Nevada at a disadvantage,” she said in a statement. “Trump’s order doesn’t include a single plan to ensure states can effectively and transparently support critical education services.”

Trump’s attempts to end the department and limit its staff would limit learning opportunities for a wide range of students, experts say.

The department, for instance, administers $15 billion in funding for about 7.5 million students receiving special education services as part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the National Education Association said.

While funding for the act can’t be eliminated without congressional approval, moving the funding elsewhere could lead to a “less restrictive environment,” the association said, potentially violating requirements of integrating those students with their peers.

“Donald Trump and Elon Musk have aimed their wrecking ball at public schools and the futures of the 50 million students in rural, suburban and urban communities across America, by dismantling public education to pay for tax handouts for billionaires,” association president Becky Pringle said in a statement.

Gutting the department would send class sizes soaring, take away support for students with disabilities, and cut job training programs, the group said.

Trump is making higher education more expensive and out of reach for middle-class families, taking away special education services for students with disabilities, and gutting student civil rights protections, Pringle added.

NDE is ‘monitoring’

According to the Education Data Initiative, Nevada K-12 schools spend $8,866 per pupil in state funding, $2,052 per pupil in federal funding and $1,879 in local funding, making money from the federal government worth about 16% of overall per-pupil funding in the state.

However, federal funds are critical to federally mandated special education services, and “title” funds such as Title I programs for low-income students and Title III for English learners.

The Clark County School District, which was on spring break last week, did not immediately respond to a request for a reaction to the executive order. However, state data show that about 44,000 of Nevada’s roughly 68,000 students with individualized education plans — or special education students — attend CCSD schools.

Of the state’s 69,000 young English learners, 49,000 are in CCSD.

In a statement Thursday, the Nevada Department of Education took a measured tone.

“The Nevada Department of Education continues to monitor updates regarding the U.S. Department of Education to understand what, if any, impact these changes will have on our state,” the department stated. “The U.S. Department of Education has noted that funds will continue to flow to the states. We remain committed to working collaboratively with all stakeholders to ensure the best outcomes for Nevada’s students.”

The state Department of Education has received $311.1 million in federal funding this fiscal year to date, a department spokesperson said. It is on track to get $438.5 million for the full year.

The state department shared a March 14 letter it received from an assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Education, sent after the mass layoffs, saying that the job eliminations were strategic cuts that “will not directly impact students and families but rather empower states and localities.”

The letter said the terminations did not include employees in the Office of Special Education Programs or the Rehabilitation Services Administration, or employees in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education who oversee the allocation, monitoring and management of title funding. Funds will continue to flow normally and program functions won’t be disrupted, the letter said.

Lombardo on board

In a statement following Trump’s order signing, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon emphasized the back-to-the-states angle.

“Education is fundamentally a state responsibility,” she said. “Instead of filtering resources through layers of federal red tape, we will empower states to take charge and advocate for and implement what is best for students, families and educators in their communities.”

Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, said in an op-ed with the conservative Breitbart News that he supports Trump’s plan “to return control of our education system to the states, where it belongs.”

“The role of government should be to empower, not overregulate, and this move will allow for a more localized, innovative, and accountable approach to education that truly serves the needs of our students, families and educators,” he wrote.

States and local school districts already have significant operational control over K-12 schools.

The Nevada Department of Education sets academic standards and curricula. School boards pass policy and regulations that are written by district staff, sometimes to conform to laws passed by state lawmakers. For example, in CCSD, locally initiated regulation outlines the review process for challenged books, while a district policy in place since 2018 outlines support plans for transgender and gender-diverse students in response to a state law requiring the plans.

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford joined a coalition of 21 Democratic attorneys general in a federal lawsuit filed last week challenging the mass layoffs that left the department with fewer than 2,200 employees.

On Thursday, Ford — who is running for governor in 2026 — said Trump’s plan is not a reform.

“Trump’s move puts millions of kids at risk — from kids who have every advantage and who happen to attend their local public school to kids who rely on financial aid, kids with disabilities, and kids in underfunded schools,” he said. “This isn’t about improving education. It’s about gutting it.”