A sweeping cost-cutting initiative led by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has resulted in the termination of nearly $900 million in contracts within the U.S. Department of Education.
The cuts primarily target the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), a research body responsible for tracking academic progress and evaluating school effectiveness, raising concerns over the future of federal education research.
The move has drawn sharp criticism from education researchers and policymakers, who argue that eliminating these studies could significantly undermine efforts to improve student outcomes. The cuts have also ignited legal battles, as watchdog groups challenge DOGE’s access to sensitive student data.
Education Department research arm hit hardest
The bulk of the cuts have fallen on the Institute of Education Sciences, which oversees long-term studies on student learning, the effectiveness of teaching strategies, and school performance. According to The Associated Press, at least 169 contracts were abruptly terminated on Monday, including projects mandated by Congress.
Among the cancelled research initiatives were studies tracking student learning from kindergarten through high school, research into special education programs, and efforts to identify best practices in teaching reading and mathematics.
One affected project, known as ReSolve, aimed to accelerate math learning for fourth and fifth graders, while another study examined the effectiveness of support services for disabled students.
Despite the extensive terminations, the Education Department has stated that some key functions of IES will remain, including the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), commonly referred to as the nation’s report card, and the College Scorecard, which provides transparency on university costs and student outcomes. However, with many of IES’s research functions effectively halted, learning specialists warn of a serious gap in national academic data.
According to the American Educational Research Association, the loss of these studies will compromise efforts to close achievement gaps, particularly for low-income students and students of colour, who historically lag behind their peers.
Legal challenges and political backlash
The sweeping reductions have triggered legal challenges over data privacy and oversight. On Tuesday, a federal judge temporarily restricted DOGE personnel from accessing certain Education Department systems containing sensitive student information, following a lawsuit filed by the University of California Student Association.
The legal complaint argues that DOGE’s staff, many of whom lack formal government roles, should not have unrestricted access to student data collected through federal aid applications.
The cuts have also sparked criticism from lawmakers. Democratic Senator Patty Murray denounced the move, stating that an “unelected billionaire is now bulldozing the research arm of the Department of Education”.
According to The New York Times, the cuts were part of a broader Trump administration effort to reduce federal oversight of learning institutions, with the president considering a full dismantling of the Department of Academic Affairs.
Despite the backlash, Musk defended the initiative, arguing that federal bureaucracy is plagued by inefficiency and waste. Speaking alongside Donald Trump at a White House press conference, Musk claimed that his team was bringing radical transparency to the government’s spending, though no specific evidence of waste or inefficiency was provided.
