DOGE Makes Cuts to Education Department’s Research Arm Totaling More Than $900 Million

The U.S. Department of Education building in Washington on July 21, 2007. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. Department of Education verified Tuesday that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has canceled 89 Institute for Education Sciences multi-year contracts totaling about $900 million and 29 contracts related to diversity, equity, and inclusion training in education totaling $101 million.

In an email response to The Epoch Times, the Department of Education noted that the contract for the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which publicizes the Nation’s Report Card for public school math and reading scores every two years, was not among those cut. Nor were the College Scorecard or College Navigator contracts.

The Department of Education did not identify any of the 89 contracts that were cut or release any further statements regarding the cuts.

Following news of the cuts via a DOGE posting on social media X platform on Monday, nonprofit agencies involved with public education expressed concerns that this move will impact the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), which maintains a website with substantial amounts of data on K–12 and higher education, ranging from college finances to tallies of teacher shortages and chronic absenteeism rates. 

President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated his intention to dismantle the Department of Education. He also issued an executive order noting that schools and education agencies that maintain DEI programs are no longer eligible for federal funding.

In a Feb. 10 statement, the American Educational Research Association and the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics urged the administration to reinstate the contracts.

“Limiting the important work that NCES does by terminating these contracts will have ramifications for the accuracy of national-level data on the condition and progress of education, from early childhood through postsecondary to the adult workforce,“ the statement reads. ”Without such research, student learning and development will be harmed.”

Sen Patty Murray (D-Wash.), a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and a former preschool teacher, noted her opposition to the cuts in a Feb. 10 statement, vowing to sound “the alarm with every parent, student, and teacher who believes in public education” over the dismantling of the Education Department’s research arm.

“Every kid deserves a great public education, and that can’t happen without nonpartisan research and data to understand what’s working and what needs to be fixed,” Murray said.

Neal McCluskey, director of Cato Institute’s Center for Education Freedom, previously told The Epoch Times that Department of Education functions could easily be absorbed by other federal agencies, including transferring the NCES’s role to the Census Bureau.

Members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee may provide more information on the cuts when they convene on Feb. 13.

The DOGE website did not have any information regarding the cuts as of the afternoon of Feb. 11.