The Trump administration last week announced a mass layoff of Department of Education employees as part of his plan to dismantle the department, a blatant attack on American children’s equal access to education and civil rights protections.
The dismantling of the department as laid out in Project 2025 (which Trump repeatedly disavowed during the campaign trail) would, among other things, redirect taxpayer dollars to private schools – with no guarantee students won’t be discriminated against because of their race, disabilities, definition of sex, and others – and to religious schools.
Of the 1,300 employees being laid off, about 240, including AFGE Local 252 President Sheria Smith, are in the Office of Civil Rights that enforces civil rights laws. The cut is about half of the entire office and will affect discrimination complaints filed by parents and students as thousands of cases were being processed by the employees being fired.
The Trump administration has engaged in a misinformation campaign, gaslighting the American people about the department and why it needs to go away.
As he can’t unilaterally abolish the department through an executive order – it would take an act of Congress which created the department in 1979 and funds it – the administration is trying to fire people, make it dysfunctional, and run a propaganda campaign against public education.
“We will not stand idly by while this regime pulls the wool over the eyes of the American people. We will state the facts,” said Smith, president of the local that represents over 2,800 workers at the Department of Education. “Every employee at the U.S. Department of Education lives in your communities – we are your neighbors, your friends, your family. And we have spent our careers supporting services that you rely on.”
As AFGE fights in court and has had some successes, we urge all Americans to stand up and contact their members of Congress to protect the department’s vital work, working people, and our country.
Below are some of the facts about the Department of Education.
FACT #1: The vast majority of the Department of Education’s budget goes directly to state and local education agencies.
These funds are earmarked for Pell Grants, which help low-income students pay for college; Title I grants, which provide classroom support for low-income school districts; IDEA grants, which support special education programs; Supporting Effective Instruction state grants, which recruit and train teachers; English Language Acquisition grants, which support students for whom English is the second language; and rural education grants, which provided needed assistance to school districts in rural parts of the country. The agency also makes sure that these grants are allocated and spent in ways that the programs’ funders intend.
FACT #2: The Department of Education does not prepare, administer, or grade standardized tests, and education policy related to standardized tests is overwhelmingly decided at the state and local levels.
While the agency operates many highly successful programs in conjunction with local education agencies, it does not influence state and local decisions regarding standardized testing.
FACT #3: The Department of Education has no authority to dictate or impose any type of curriculum that schools must follow.
It plays no role in choosing textbooks or the contents of school libraries. It has never withheld funds from schools based on pronouns or the types of bathrooms they have. Further, the Department is staffed by career public servants who represent and serve the people. Employees swear an oath to uphold the law and fulfill their duties regardless of which party occupies the White House.
FACT #4: The Department of Education employs roughly 4,000 people, the fewest of any cabinet-level agency.
Less than 1% of the Department’s budget is spent on salaries and compensation for these employees. Along with its D.C. headquarters, the agency operates regional offices in ten states, including Pennsylvania, Georgia, Texas, Missouri, and Colorado. Additionally, the Department’s work supports a wide array of schools, with specific programs that cater both to high-poverty urban school districts and rural school districts with their own unique needs and challenges.
FACT #5: Nearly every facet of education is primarily handled at the local level already.
The Department of Education merely acts to provide assistance that supplements the resources of local school districts. The agency’s support enables localities to assist low-income students, provide special education for students with disabilities, train and recruit new teachers, accommodate English language learners, provide afterschool and summer programs in areas of need, and much more. The Department also ensures that states and localities are compliant with existing federal education laws. This includes enforcing federal civil rights laws and the Americans with Disabilities Act, protecting the privacy of families, and preventing predatory student loan schemes from taking advantage of vulnerable students.
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