Donald Trump’s administration made big moves to initiate what’s known as a Reduction in Force (RIF) at the Department of Education on March 11. According to the agency, it’s going to, or is expected to, impact half the workforce there.
“Today’s reduction in force reflects the Department of Education’s commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon — wife of wrestling magnate Vince McMahon — said in the release.
Just about a week later, President Trump signed an executive order to begin dismantling the DoE, with the idea being that education should be left to the states.
So how is that going to impact your kids?
Let’s dive into it.
Mass layoffs
According to the American Federation of Government Employees Local 252, the union that represents department staff members, 1,300 jobs were slashed in a single day. That’s going to make it significantly harder, from a broad overview, to deal with what the agency has been handling since 1980, when it was founded — to say nothing of people who suddenly have no jobs.
And with Trump’s executive order, there are significantly more impacts on the way.
What specific jobs did those cuts hit?
Two particular divisions were smacked by the initial round of layoffs: the Office for Civil Rights and the Institute of Education Sciences.
Cutting those two divisions means far fewer staffers will be available to handle the 12,000 pending federal investigations into civil rights violations in schools — about half of which involve disability issues. It also means fewer people to review and share government-funded research on effective ways to educate children with autism or severe intellectual disabilities.
Bad news when it comes to federal student aid
The Department of Education manages a student loan debt portfolio exceeding $1.6 trillion. The administration’s executive order to close the department aims to transfer this responsibility to other agencies, such as the Small Business Administration.
This transition raises very real concerns about the continuity and efficiency of student loan services.
Other aid eliminations
We wish we knew. The administration is considering cuts or eliminations to nearly a dozen other student loan and federal aid programs.
While specific programs have not been detailed, that could reduce the availability of financial assistance for students pursuing higher education.
Impact on low-income and minority students
Federal assistance programs, such as Pell Grants and Title I funds, are crucial for low-income and minority students. The proposed dismantling of the Department of Education threatens the continuity of these programs, potentially creating significant gaps in resources for vulnerable student populations.
Here’s the bottom line
The proposed cuts and structural changes to the Department of Education by the Trump administration — including just nuking it — are expected to disrupt the management and distribution of student aid, potentially reducing access to financial assistance for many students and affecting the overall stability of the student loan system.
