Dept. of Education lays off nearly half its staff. Experts say the impact could be catastrophic

The president has said he wants to eradicate the department, saying it is ineffective, but that would take an act of Congress and 60 votes in the U.S. Senate. Political experts and even the department’s new secretary, Linda McMahon, have said eliminating the department is difficult with just 53 Republicans in the Senate. Officials have been cutting staff instead, which has raised concerns about the agency’s ability to provide critical funding to states and local school districts.

“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,” McMahon said in a news release.

The release said some divisions require significant reorganization. The department said it will continue to deliver programs such as student loans, Pell Grants and funding for special needs students.

The American Federation of Teachers, which has more than 1.8 million members, said in a statement “denuding” the department would hurt millions of students with disabilities and those living in poverty.

“This callous move will directly impact the 90 percent of students who attend public schools, by denying them the resources they need to thrive,” the statement reads. “That’s why Americans squarely oppose eliminating the Education Department. We are urging Congress — and the courts — to step in to ensure all students can maintain access to a high-quality public education.”

The Center for American Progress said in a statement the job cuts “handicap a public agency that oversees vital programs on which America’s most vulnerable students and families, particularly in rural areas, rely.”

The department coordinates several different programs, including backing student loans, providing Title I funds to school districts in impoverished areas and investigating complaints of civil rights violations. Questions remain about if and how those programs will be managed without staff to oversee them.

The agency also sends about $2 billion to Georgia each year. Eric Duncan, the director of P-12 policy at the Education Trust, a nonprofit and research organization, noted much of the money goes to “places where there’s a disproportionate amount of students and families of color from low income backgrounds, and in places where those resources are necessary.”

Duncan added that the department’s Office for Civil Rights collected data from states about test scores, graduation rates and school suspensions and expulsions. It is unclear how the agency will function after the layoffs.

“When the department started to collect (data about), ‘How often are you suspending your students and by race, by gender?’ That shaped the way that we, as a country, have talked about restorative justice policies and ways to support students, and the impact that suspending and expelling a kindergartner or second grader can have on their graduation rates and student outcomes,” he said.

Lisa Morgan, a kindergarten teacher and president of the Georgia Association of Educators, said if the administration follows through with plans to eliminate the department, special education programs in Georgia could lose $457 million.

“We should be investing in our students’ futures, not seeking to eliminate the Department of Education that only Congress has the power to do,” Morgan said in a statement. “The vast majority of Congress rejected gutting public education last session, knowing it would only hurt students and is deeply unpopular with parents and educators. We call on our members of Congress to once again stand up for our students, educators, and public education.”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.