Restructuring Korea’s Education Governance Through an Analysis of the U.S. Plan to Abolish the Department of Education

In March 2025, U.S. President Trump, through Executive Order 14242, ordered that the functions of the federal Department of Education be transferred to state governments and local communities and that the Department itself be phased out. The executive order argued that the federal Department of Education had failed to improve academic achievement and that political objectives and bureaucratic inefficiency had deepened its disconnect from the field. In particular, it pointed out that the Department was operating a massive budget inefficiently, called for the reduction of education programs promoting specific ideologies, such as DEI policies, and emphasized the realization of education autonomy centered on state governments.

The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 report, which can be regarded as the strategic foundation for this executive order, presents a detailed blueprint for abolishing the federal Department of Education. The report proposes converting the low-income support program administered by the federal Department of Education (Title I) into block grants and special education (IDEA) into a voucher system, while transferring student loan functions to the Treasury Department and civil rights protection functions (OCR) to the Department of Justice. It also recommends a full-scale decentralization and reduction of the Department’s functions, including transferring education-related statistical functions to the Department of Commerce and Native education functions to the Department of the Interior, thereby shifting to an education system led by state governments and the market.

The main implications drawn from a comparison of the U.S. case and Korea’s education system are as follows. First, while the United States aims to minimize the federal government, Korea should focus on recalibrating the central government’s strong authority and making local education autonomy substantive. Second, in Korean education, the frequent changes in education policy with each change of administration and the limitations of centrally driven policy management restrict the autonomy and creativity of local authorities and schools, making it necessary to establish a long-term, cross-administration education governance framework. Third, in the structure of education finance as well, Korea remains highly dependent on the central government and lacks local fiscal autonomy, making it essential to expand fiscal autonomy while strengthening the corresponding accountability.

In conclusion, discussions on restructuring Korea’s Ministry of Education should move not toward the extreme option of abolishing it, but toward adjusting its role, strengthening local autonomy, and building inclusive and integrated education governance centered on the National Education Commission. To this end, the Ministry of Education should first be reorganized into a coordinator responsible for national-level policy planning and interministerial cooperation, while authority over the administration of kindergarten, elementary, and secondary education should be gradually transferred to metropolitan and provincial offices of education in order to realize substantive local education autonomy. In addition, the role of the National Education Commission as a decision-making body should be activated to build cooperative governance that institutionally guarantees central coherence, local autonomy, and social participation. Ultimately, Korea’s education governance should be restructured on the basis of a clear division of roles between the central and local governments so that stable and future-oriented education reform can be achieved.

I. Introduction

II. Historical Background and Ideology of Discussions on Abolishing the U.S. Department of Education

1. The History and Ideological Foundations of Arguments for Abolishing the U.S. Department of Education

2. Pledges and Policymaking on Abolishing the Department of Education During the Trump Administration

III. Analysis of the Trump Administration’s Strategy for Abolishing the Department of Education

1. Structural Analysis and Evaluation of Executive Order 14242

2. Project 2025’s Blueprint for Abolishing the Department of Education

IV. Implications of the U.S. Plan to Abolish the Department of Education for Korean Education

1. Comparison of the Education Systems of Korea and the United States

2. The History of Discussions on Abolishing Korea’s Ministry of Education

3. Implications for Korean Education

V. Conclusion: Directions for Restructuring Korea’s Education Governance

References

Wiki:

https://www.cfe.org/w/bbsDetail.php?&idx=48

Original title: 미국 ‘교육부 폐지’ 구상 분석을 통한 한국 교육거버넌스 재구조화 방향

Author: Ae-gyeong Seon

Date: 2025-06-09

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=report&pn=1&idx=27783