Trump administration targets Education Department research arm in latest cuts

https://www.npr.org/2025/02/10/nx-s1-5292444/trump-musk-education-department-schools-students-research-cuts

An independent research arm within the U.S. Department of Education is being all but shut down, employees of the department say. The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is responsible for gathering and disseminating data on a wide range of topics, including research-backed teaching practices and the state of U.S. student achievement.

Many contracts have already been canceled, according to two employees briefed on the moves. They shared screenshots with NPR of emails sent on Monday notifying them of terminated contracts.

The employees said they learned of the cuts at an emergency meeting called Monday afternoon by leaders of IES, a nonpartisan division of the Education Department that includes the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

The employees asked that their names not be used because they feared for their jobs.

The research collected by IES is used by educators, state and local departments of education, school districts, colleges and other researchers to better understand student achievement, enrollment and a host of other important functions that shape the education system in this country.

In the Monday meeting, employees were told that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a unit within the Trump administration run by Elon Musk, plans to cancel most of IES' contracts. Two employees shared screenshots of emails summoning them to that meeting.