Democrats demand details on Education Department layoffs

Leading Democrats on the congressional appropriations committees demanded information about the U.S. Department of Education’s mass layoffs in a letter sent Monday to the agency.

The March 11 layoffs that halved the Education Department’s workforce could impact the agency’s ability to perform a variety of required oversight functions, wrote Sen. Patti Murray of Washington, Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, and Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut.

Murray is vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Baldwin is ranking member of the panel’s Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. DeLauro is ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee.

Among major areas of concern the lawmakers identified are accountability under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, services for students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, federal student aid programs at colleges and universities, and students’ civil rights.

Addressed to U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and Institute of Education Sciences Acting Director Matthew Soldner, the 10-page letter’s chief request is for details on: 

• The number of staff terminated in each program office.
• Expected savings in salaries and benefits for fiscal 2025.
• How many remaining staff were assigned additional duties due to staff reductions since Jan. 20.
• The average per-staff number of new duties assigned.
• A complete list of office teams that were cut and the specific responsibilities transferred from those teams to other offices.

The letter goes on to request details — with three specific examples for each — on how the reductions ensure “resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers;” and how they reflect commitments to accountability and efficiency.

An additional 15 requests encompass more information on impacts to the Office for Civil Rights, federal student aid programs, and accountability duties under laws such as ESEA and IDEA. The lawmakers gave the Education Department until March 21 to respond.