Education Department Workforce Slashed, Raising Concerns over Grant Funding and Student Support
WASHINGTON – The Education Department is undergoing dramatic staff reductions, with the latest layoffs bringing its workforce down to fewer than 2,000 employees – a meaningful decrease from the approximately 4,100 employed when President Trump took office. The cuts are sparking fears of delayed federal grant payments to schools and diminished support for programs serving disadvantaged students and those with disabilities.
The layoffs, which follow earlier reductions in March that were partially reversed after being deemed too deep, are impacting teams responsible for critical functions including the disbursement of federal grants to schools nationwide, oversight of TRIO programs for first-generation college students, and funding for historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). “The layoffs would result in the elimination of teams responsible for overseeing the payment of federal grants to schools across the country,” warned Sasha Pudelski, director of advocacy for AASA, the association of school superintendents. “Becuase of this, school districts risk delays in reimbursing expenses incurred under these programs, including for salaries of teachers in disadvantaged neighborhoods.”
The cuts extend to special education enforcement, with the department’s special education office staff being reduced from roughly 200 to approximately five people, according to Katy Neas, director of The Arc of the United States, an advocacy group for people with disabilities. A statement from the National Association of Directors of Special Education warns that continued budget cuts will leave the government unable to meet its obligations to enforce special education laws.
The American Federation of Government Employees and other national unions are challenging the layoffs in court, filing a suit in san Francisco alleging that the government’s budget and personnel offices exceeded their authority in ordering the cuts during the recent government shutdown. The Trump management, in a court filing, maintains the executive branch has broad discretion to reduce the federal workforce.
Annie Ma of the Associated Press contributed to this report.
