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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Do some conservatives want to eliminate the Department of Education?

By Christopher Hutton
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YES

Some conservatives have disputed the need for a Cabinet-level Department of Education since it was established in 1980. Ronald Reagan's 1980 campaign platform called for eliminating what he called "President Jimmy Carter’s new bureaucratic boondoggle." In a 2016 interview with Sean Hannity, then-candidate Donald Trump said that the department "can be largely eliminated."

Actual initiatives to do so have not progressed beyond proposed legislation. In 1995, a Republican Congressman introduced legislation to combine the department with the Labor Department and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, asserting the move could save $21 billion. In 2017, Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie introduced a one-sentence bill to shut down the department. The bill attracted 12 cosponsors.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Chronicle of Higher Education: GOP attempts to kill the US Department of Education
Fox News: Donald Trump interview with Sean Hannity (April 2016)
Education Week: 1995 proposal to merge federal departments
US Congress: HR-899, bill to terminate the Department of Education.
Department of Education: The federal role in education
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Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.