In brief
The ongoing governmental shutdown significantly affects operations at the U.S. Education Department. While federal financial aid and student loan payments continue, investigations into civil rights complaints will cease, and 87% of the department's employees face furlough. Calls for dismantling the department have intensified amidst mass staff layoffs and the White House's threats of further federal employment cuts.
WASHINGTON (RTW) — The U.S. Education Department's operations are severely impacted as the government shutdown takes effect. While some core functions will continue, significant areas of work, particularly civil rights investigations, will cease, and about 87% of the workforce will be furloughed as per the department's contingency plan.
Despite the ongoing shutdown, federal financial aid remains unaffected, and student loan obligations are still in place. However, new federal grants will not be issued, and investigations into civil rights complaints will stop.
Under the Trump administration, the department has experienced considerable cuts, with calls to dismantle the agency growing stronger. Staff layoffs have already reduced the workforce from approximately 4,100 to around 2,500, leading officials to acknowledge that some of the cuts may have gone too deep.
You hope that you’re just cutting fat. Sometimes you cut a little muscle, and you realize it as you’re continuing your programs, Education Secretary Linda McMahon remarked during a recent hearing.
The Education Department plays a key role in managing approximately $1.6 trillion in federal student loans, largely unscathed in the short term due to the shutdown. Pell Grants will continue to be disbursed, and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will still be processed.
However, the shutdown will suspend new grant-making activities and advisory roles to schools, potentially impacting programs like Impact Aid that support districts affected by federal land management.
Dramatic staff reductions have also impacted the department’s ability to handle civil rights investigations, further aggravating an already existing backlog of complaints. There are concerns that this will impede necessary progress in addressing discrimination cases from students nationwide.
As the situation evolves, the department has indicated that it will adjust its contingency plans if the shutdown persists to avoid significant harm to schools and the educational climate.
