Education Department Layoffs

Introduction to the Issue

At least 50 employees are departing the Chicago office of the U.S. Department of Education, nearly all through layoffs announced by the Trump administration, according to documents sent to union officials from the Education Department.

Impact on Civil Rights Offices

The layoffs are eliminating Chicago’s Office for Civil Rights, one of seven around the country where all positions are being cut, officials with the union that represents department employees said Wednesday. The office is tasked with enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws in schools. That will leave five offices at a time when the Education Department faces a backlog of complaints from students and families.

Nationwide Effects

Roughly 240 of the more than 1,300 layoffs announced Tuesday were in the Office for Civil Rights, according to The Associated Press. Despite assurances that the department’s work will continue unaffected, huge numbers of cases appear to be in limbo.

Concerns from Affected Parties

Sheria Smith, a fired Office for Civil Rights lawyer in Texas and president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 252, said the office provides free legal support to families, including many parents of students with disabilities, as they work with school districts to bring them into compliance with the law.
“If you’re a student … you expect to be protected by your school,” Smith said on a call with reporters Wednesday. “What this administration has done is that it has eliminated oversight. So you’ve eliminated protection of American students … from K[indergarten] all the way to higher education.”

Specific Jobs Affected

A staff roster sent by the Education Department to the union names 43 impacted Chicago union staffers. At least seven managers in one unit are not included. The list includes 27 staffers in the Office for Civil Rights and 12 in Federal Student Aid, which oversees federal college financial aid. The roster includes lawyers, “equal opportunity specialists,” accountants, financial analysts and lender review specialists.

Impact on Student Aid and Oversight

As far as the impact of the cuts to the office of Federal Student Aid, Smith doesn’t think high school seniors will get the information they need this spring from the Education Department to decide which colleges they can afford.
“I just don’t know how that’s possible because this administration has eliminated hundreds of people who do that work without any plan to continue the work, to continue those services,” Smith said.

State and Local Reactions

The Illinois State Board of Education also said it was told by a career federal employee that the office that provides support for states that receive federal funding was reduced. It has not gotten any formal communication about the $3.56 billion in funding ISBE expects to receive in the fiscal year that starts in July.
“This is the extent of the information ISBE has available at the moment and it is deeply concerned about the potential implication,” ISBE said in a statement.

Union and Leadership Responses

Union leaders decried the layoffs.
“There is a tsunami coming from Washington to every child in this state and country,” Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery said Wednesday. “It’s not efficiency. … It’s destruction of [the] Department of Education because this administration in Washington wants to give huge tax breaks to billionaires.”
Al Llorens, president of Illinois Education Association, noted the potential impact on special education students. The Department of Education provides key oversight for special education services and funding.
“Making broad-based cuts like those ordered [Tuesday] doesn’t affect faceless bureaucrats; it affects our kids,” Llorens said in a statement.

Uncertainty Over Civil Rights Cases

The Trump administration has not said how it will proceed with thousands of Office for Civil Rights cases being handled by staff it’s eliminating. The cases involve families trying to get school services for students with disabilities, allegations of bias related to race and religion and complaints over sexual violence at schools and college campuses.
Some staffers who remain said there’s no way to pick up all of their fired colleagues’ cases. Many were already struggling to keep pace with their own caseloads. With fewer than 300 workers, families likely will be waiting on resolution for years, they said.

Department Response

Department officials insisted the cuts will not affect civil rights investigations. The reductions were “strategic decisions,” spokesperson Madison Biedermann said.
The Office of Civil Rights “will be able to deliver the work,” Biedermann said. “It will have to look different, and we know that.”

Conclusion

The layoffs are part of a dramatic downsizing directed by President Donald Trump as he moves to reduce the footprint of the federal government. The Institute of Education Sciences, which oversees assessments of whether the education system is working and research into best teaching practices, is also losing hundreds of staffers.
Trump has pushed for a full shutdown of the Education Department, calling it a “con job” and saying its power should be turned over to states. On Wednesday he told reporters many agency employees “don’t work at all.” Responding to the layoffs, he said his administration is “keeping the best ones.”

FAQs

• Q: How many employees are departing the Chicago office of the U.S. Department of Education?
  A: At least 50 employees are departing, nearly all through layoffs announced by the Trump administration.
• Q: What is the role of the Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Education?
  A: The Office for Civil Rights is tasked with enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws in schools.
• Q: How many layoffs were announced in the Office for Civil Rights nationwide?
  A: Roughly 240 of the more than 1,300 layoffs announced were in the Office for Civil Rights.
• Q: What impact do the layoffs have on the handling of civil rights cases?
  A: The layoffs are expected to significantly delay the resolution of cases, with some families potentially waiting years for outcomes.
• Q: How has the Trump administration justified these layoffs?
  A: The administration has described the reductions as “strategic decisions” aimed at making the department more efficient, despite criticism that it undermines the protection of students’ rights.