President Donald Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the federal Department of Education in March, one that threatens San Francisco State University’s federally funded programs that have supported the university’s high-needs students since 1997.

One primary objective of the Trump administration’s 2024 campaign is to eliminate the Department of Education in order to reduce the teaching of “a one-sided and distorted view of American history” and “send all education work and needs back to the States,” according to Trump’s website. In a public statement following the signing of the order, President Trump said that the department’s functions of providing Pell Grants to college students, funding Title I schools and resources for children with special needs will be “fully preserved” and “redistributed” across other federal agencies. However, funding toward college student retention programs and disability services are possible casualties of the department’s closure.

In the 2023-2024 academic year, SFSU received more than $575,000 in federal funds for the two TRIO programs, Student Support Services and Student Outreach and Academic Retention, according to a Department of Education document. They serve over 300 students who are first-generation college students and those considered “low-income” along with students with disabilities.

Antonella Cortez, an SSS program coordinator, said the purpose of these programs is to provide students with free resources and advising up to their third year.

“We support them with tutoring, specifically in math and English,” said Cortez. 

SSS also provides workshops to support students’ understanding of financial literacy, academic success and professional development, according to Cortez. 

SOAR is a similar program that started in 2015 that provides priority registration for only transfer and STEM students. SOAR Program Director Juan Carlos Gonzalez started his SFSU career in the SSS-TRIO program in 1997 before becoming a founding member of SOAR.

Funding for these programs generally goes to staffing in order to keep up with individualized support for students. 

“The tutoring is more specialized, which is very helpful,” said Issac Corona, a second-year civil engineering student. “For the longest time, we had no business tutor, and I was struggling in accounting until we got Juan.”

Alongside specialized tutoring, one-on-one academic and financial advising is something the TRIO centers provide to all of their students.

“I love meeting with Alisa,” said Corona, referring to his adviser. “She’ll always tell me whenever I really gotta lock in and do something, which happens a lot more often than I like to credit myself for.”

Providing this service for hundreds of students means hiring a lot of staff, many of whom are current SFSU students like Corona.

“Most of our expenses are used up in personnel,” Cortez said. “But when we do have times where we’ve had small surpluses, we’re able to also provide grant aid to students.”

Everything TRIO services provide helps vulnerable SFSU students. 

“When we take up students based on a need,” said Cortez, “We can look at whether we can assist them financially as best we can given the resources we have on hand at the time.”

The TRIO programs at SFSU are forward-funded on a five-year cycle, and this cycle’s grants are renewed during the Summer 2025 semester. According to Cortez, both TRIO services submitted program continuation proposals last July.

With President Trump signing the executive order to dismantle the department late last month, uncertainty over continuing to receive that funding is on the minds of the coordinators.

“In February, we received communication that we were on a list of programs to be frozen,” said Gonzalez. “The outcome of that was that a judge halted the freezing of those funds.”

Federally funded education programs now have to hope that other branches of the government will try to reverse Trump’s orders as they come. Funding education has previously been a bipartisan endeavor, but with more far-right-leaning Republicans holding the majority in Congress, there is much less certainty.

“It would be an act of Congress that TRIO programs will no longer be funded,” said Gonzalez.

California Sen. Adam Schiff is one Congress member who is fighting to continue spending over $125 billion federal dollars on education services, including Pell Grants, Title I funding and funding for schools under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

“I am committed to using every lever at my disposal to block any illegal, unconstitutional cuts or executive orders dismantling the Department of Education,” said Schiff in an email response. “As President Trump aims to seize control of every aspect of government and remake it in his flawed image, I will hold him and his administration accountable every single day and be a constant check on every abuse of power,” the email said. 

California Sen. Alex Padilla echoes Schiff’s position in federal funding for education.

“I do not support any efforts to terminate the Department of Education,” said Padilla in an email. “I believe that an investment in public education is an investment in the future of America.”

Padilla shared his interpretation of the department’s mission, including “promoting student achievement, fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.” He said the quality of education impacts the nation’s workforce and is a factor in keeping U.S. citizens in the running for global jobs.

“Education transformed my life, and I am committed to ensuring that every student in California and across the country receives a high-quality and equitable education,” Padilla said.

The future of the Department of Education remains unclear as federal judges and the current administration continue to watch President Trump’s orders.