The department has been largely responsible for oversight, enforcing discrimination laws and distributing aid money for schools with low-income students and students with disabilities. Federal funding makes up a relatively small portion of public school budgets, roughly 14%.

Officials from Chicago and Illinois are sounding the alarm as the U.S. Department of Education plans to lay off about half of its workforce, putting its future in peril while causing “chaos” for students and schools throughout the country.

Like many of President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet selections, his education secretary nominee Betsy DeVos, a Michigan billionaire and GOP mega-donor, has been met with controversy.