“Honest question, what does the department of education actually do? What differences will we reasonably notice once it’s gone?” So tweeted “HannahReading” today.

Her tweet is one of many that have asked this same question since Donald Trump returned to the presidency on January 20, 2025. Folks are talking about the U.S. Department of Education because Mr. Trump has said he wants to abolish it. (It will not be easy.)

Here let me limit myself to addressing the first question.

The Department of Education does many, many things. Whether one approves of any, all, or some of them is a different topic I will not address here.)

To understand the scope of its activities, here are two tips:

First, look at the authorizing laws that authorize and direct its activities. Skimming it over gives you a sense of the Department’s myriad duties.

Second, read the Department’s most recent budget justification. This is the document it delivers to Congress each year to ask for funding. It includes details on what it has been doing and where it has expended funds that Congress previously appropriated.

Now, if you are a real glutton for punishment, you can learn more by reading the Department of Education’s Annual Performance Report, which has additional information on the agency’s operations and doings. (Mind you, it is biased, like any annual report.) Last, there’s the Department’s Annual Financial Report, which gets deep into the financial weeds.

Enjoy!