On Tuesday, March 11th, 2025, the Trump administration announced federal layoffs for the Department of Education; these layoffs would take effect on March 21. Ever since then, the administration cut nearly half the Department of Education’s workforce, which reduced the staff to 2,183 employees. Seven regional offices of the Office for Civil Rights were also completely shut down. Trump’s administration framed these cuts as a part of a broader effort to shrink the federal government, which is led by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Additionally, Education Secretary Linda McMahon defended the cuts, claiming that they would reduce bureaucracy and improve government efficiency. These layoffs are part of a bigger plan to eliminate the Education Department entirely; however, doing so would require Congressional approval.
The Federal Student Aid Office, which is responsible for federal loans and Pell Grants, lost important staff due to these layoffs. The student loans and Pell Grant are protected by the law, but the smaller workforce will slow down the disbursement process and processing delays. Furthermore, FAFSA is also legally required, but technical glitches and a reduction in employees would decrease processing for millions of students.
The Office for Civil Rights also faced a massive reduction in employees, which severely limits its ability to investigate discrimination cases. Before the layoffs, OCR was already dealing with complaints about disability rights violations, racial bias, and Title IX sexual assault investigations. This caused investigations into school disability rights violations pausing for a month, leaving families without legal resources. Also, Special education services like IEPs and 504 disability accommodations are legally protected, but enforcement delays are expected because of the cuts.
There were major research funding cuts in the National Institutes of Health, leading to billions of dollars being removed from universities that rely on federal support. This caused several federal grant programs to be suspended or defunded, which led to hiring freezes, reduced graduate admissions, and declining research funding. These universities rely on federal research contracts, and they may have severe financial shortages which negatively impact faculty jobs and student resources.
There were also lawsuits filed against the Trump administration due to the cuts. Twenty-one Democratic attorney generals called the cuts “illegal and unconstitutional”, claiming that Trump does not have the authority to dismantle a federal agency without Congressional approval. However, Trump defended his move, arguing that most employers did not “work at all” and the cuts would help streamline government operations and improve efficiency.
