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A person walks in front of the Department of Education building in Washington, DC, on Feb. 4, 2025.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

GZERO Explains: How did the US Department of Education become so controversial?

When was it established and why? US President Jimmy Carter created the department in 1979 as a Cabinet-level agency. It consolidated educational functions that were previously the responsibility of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (now the Department of Health and Human Services).

The department had a broad mandate, overseeing elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education, vocational training, special education, and civil rights compliance. Carter wanted to centralize programs and ensure equal access to education, which he considered “a fundamental right.”

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Linda McMahon testifies before the Senate Health, Education, and Labor Committee during a nomination hearing as Secretary of Education in Washington, DC, USA, on Feb. 13, 2025.

Lenin Nolly/NurPhoto via Reuters

Education Dept’s future in question as McMahon begins confirmation process

Linda McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, on Thursday began her Senate confirmation hearing to run the Department of Education, which Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency have vowed to shrink or shut down.
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