DOGE Slashes Over $900 Million from Education Department’s Research Budget
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has also canceled 29 contracts concerning DEI training in the education sector, amounting to $101 million.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Education confirmed that DOGE has terminated 89 multi-year contracts with the Institute for Education Sciences, which total approximately $900 million, in addition to the 29 contracts for diversity, equity, and inclusion training in education worth $101 million.
In a response via email to The Epoch Times, the Department of Education stated that the contract for the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which provides the Nation’s Report Card on public school math and reading scores biennially, was not among those canceled. The contracts for the College Scorecard and College Navigator were also preserved.
The Department did not disclose the specific 89 contracts that were cut nor offered any additional comments concerning the cancellations.
Following a DOGE announcement on the X social media platform about the cuts on Monday, nonprofit organizations involved in public education expressed worries that these actions could affect the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), which maintains a comprehensive website filled with data on K–12 and postsecondary education, including aspects like college finances and tracking teacher shortages and chronic absenteeism rates.
President Donald Trump has consistently expressed his aim to dismantle the Department of Education. He also signed an executive order stating that educational institutions and agencies that continue to have DEI programs will no longer qualify for federal funding.
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“Reducing the essential work conducted by NCES through the cancellation of these contracts will have repercussions for the precision of national-level data regarding the state and progress of education, spanning early childhood, postsecondary education, and the adult workforce,” the statement stated. “Without such research, student learning and development will suffer.”
“Every child deserves access to an excellent public education, which cannot be achieved without unbiased research and data to comprehend what is effective and what requires improvement,” Murray asserted.
Neal McCluskey, director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Education Freedom, previously stated to The Epoch Times that the functions of the Department of Education could readily be integrated into other federal agencies, including transferring the NCES’s responsibilities to the Census Bureau.
Additional details regarding the cuts may be provided by members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee during their meeting on Feb. 13.
As of the afternoon of Feb. 11, the DOGE website lacked any information concerning the cuts.
