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U.S. Department of Education says it will cut nearly half its staff

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Linda McMahon is sworn in as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Education

The U.S. Department of Education announced on Tuesday evening that it will be cutting nearly 50% of the department’s workforce, representing more than 1,300 positions. Impacted staff will be placed on administrative leave beginning March 21, according to the announcement.

The announcement comes just one week after the Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s nomination of Linda McMahon to be the next secretary of the department. Following her swearing in last week, McMahon referred to the overhaul of the department as its “final mission.”

“Today’s reduction in force reflects the Department of Education’s commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers,” McMahon said in the Tuesday statement. “I appreciate the work of the dedicated public servants and their contributions to the Department. This is a significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States education system.” 

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According to the announcement, the reduction in force will impact all divisions within the department, with “some divisions requiring significant reorganization to better serve students, parents, educators, and taxpayers.”

“The Department of Education will continue to deliver on all statutory programs that fall under the agency’s purview, including formula funding, student loans, Pell Grants, funding for special needs students, and competitive grantmaking,” the announcement says.

In addition to the more than 1,300 positions impacted by this reduction in force, about 600 employees have accepted voluntary resignations or retired over the last two months, according to the department.

Following the reduction, “the Department’s workforce will total roughly 2,183 workers.”

According to the release, all impacted employees will receive full pay and benefits until June 9, “as well as substantial severance pay or retirement benefits based upon their length of service.”

Before Tuesday, at least 75 Department staff had already been placed on paid administrative leave, according to a tally by AFGE Local 252, a union that represents federal employees.

Per a report by NPR, that count does not include managers and supervisors. Many of those staffers on paid leave attended a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) workshop the department has offered for many years, NPR reported, including during the first Trump administration. 

The union also told NPR that at least 75 additional probationary department staff were terminated.

AFGE Local 252 President Sheria Smith, who later found out she was laid off from the department, said in a statement to NPR that, “We will fight these draconian cuts and urge all Americans to stand up and contact their Members of Congress…to protect the Department of Education’s vital work, working people, and our Nation by rejecting these political games.”

Tuesday’s announcement said the reduction in force is part of the department’s “final mission.”

A Feb. 26 guidance memo from U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) directed agency heads to achieve “large-scale reductions in force” through attrition, hiring freezes, and “by eliminating positions that are not required.”

Agency heads are expected to turn in “Agency Reorganization Plans” to OMB and OPM by Thursday.

“Pursuant to the President’s direction, agencies should focus on the maximum elimination of functions that are not statutorily mandated while driving the highest-quality, most efficient delivery of their statutorily-required functions,” the memo says.