Education Department Layoffs

WASHINGTON — The Education Department plans to lay off over 1,300 of its more than 4,000 employees as part of a reorganization that’s seen as a prelude to President Donald Trump’s plan to dismantle the agency.

Department officials announced the cuts Tuesday, raising questions about the agency’s ability to continue usual operations.

Impact of Layoffs

The layoffs are part of a dramatic downsizing of the federal government directed by Trump. Thousands of jobs are expected to be cut across the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Social Security Administration and other agencies.

The department is also terminating leases on buildings in cities including New York, Boston, Chicago and Cleveland, said Rachel Oglesby, the department’s chief of staff. She said the changes would not affect the agency’s Office for Civil Rights or its functions mandated by Congress, such as the distribution of federal aid to schools.

Civil Rights Concerns

ProPublica reported Wednesday that more than half of the offices that investigate civil rights complaints against schools and universities from students and their families will be abolished as part of the layoffs.

The Office for Civil Rights locations in Dallas, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco are being shuttered, ProPublica reported. Offices in Atlanta, Denver, Kansas City, Seattle and Washington, D.C., will remain open.

Background

The Trump administration had already been whittling the agency’s staff, though buyout offers and the termination of probationary employees. After Tuesday’s layoffs, the Education Department’s staff will sit at roughly half of its previous 4,000, Oglesby said.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon told employees to brace for profound cuts in a memo issued March 3, the day she was confirmed by the Senate. She said it was the department’s “final mission” to eliminate bureaucratic bloat and turn over the agency’s authority to states.

Previous Efforts to Downsize

The department sent an email to employees Tuesday telling them its Washington headquarters and regional offices would be closed Wednesday, with access forbidden, before reopening Thursday. The only reason given for the closures was unspecified “security reasons.”

Trump campaigned on a promise to close the department, saying it had been overtaken by “radicals, zealots and Marxists.” At McMahon’s confirmation hearing, she acknowledged only Congress has the power to abolish the agency but said it might be due for cuts and a reorganization.

Impact on Students

There are concerns the administration’s agenda has pushed aside some of the agency’s most fundamental work, including the enforcement of civil rights for students with disabilities and the management of $1.6 trillion in federal student loans.

McMahon told lawmakers at her hearing that her aim is not to defund core programs, but to make them more efficient.

Department Size and Workforce

Even before the layoffs, the Education Department was among the smallest Cabinet-level agencies. Its workforce included 3,100 people in Washington and an additional 1,100 at regional offices across the country, according to a department website.

The department’s workers had faced increasing pressure to quit their jobs since Trump took office, first through a deferred resignation program and then through a $25,000 buyout offer that expired March 3. The buyout offer came with a warning that there would be “significant layoffs in the near future.”

Conclusion

The Education Department layoffs are a significant development in the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize the federal government. The impact of these layoffs on the agency’s ability to carry out its core functions, including the enforcement of civil rights and the management of federal student loans, remains to be seen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How many employees will be laid off from the Education Department?

A: Over 1,300 employees will be laid off from the Education Department as part of a reorganization.

Q: What is the reason for the layoffs?

A: The layoffs are part of a dramatic downsizing of the federal government directed by President Trump.

Q: Will the layoffs affect the agency’s Office for Civil Rights?

A: The changes will not affect the agency’s Office for Civil Rights or its functions mandated by Congress, such as the distribution of federal aid to schools.

Q: How many offices that investigate civil rights complaints will be abolished?

A: More than half of the offices that investigate civil rights complaints against schools and universities from students and their families will be abolished as part of the layoffs.

Q: What is the impact of the layoffs on students with disabilities?

A: There are concerns that the administration’s agenda has pushed aside some of the agency’s most fundamental work, including the enforcement of civil rights for students with disabilities.