After President Donald Trump‘s administration slashed half of the U.S. Department of Education‘s staff amid mass layoffs and buyouts, millions of students, parents, teachers, administrators and support staff may be wondering, “What does that mean for us?”
A preliminary tally of most of the cuts shows the Federal Student Aid Office, which handles student loan and financial aid disbursement, and the Office for Civil Rights, which protects students and teachers from discrimination, were most affected by the reduction in force announced Tuesday. Current and former employees expressed major concerns Wednesday about how the agency could still accomplish its objectives without the staff it has long had to achieve them.
Read more on Education Dept. layoffs: Which staff were ousted and where cuts hit hardest, by the numbers
There is a lot of confusion out there about what the federal agency does. For starters, the department doesn’t control what gets taught in schools. The idea of closing it and sending education “back to the states,” which Trump has repeatedly called for, is based on a false premise. Most curriculum decisions are hammered out at the local level.
The federal government has some broad authority over what can happen within the classroom environment. No educational program, including K-12 schools and colleges, that receives federal funding may permit discrimination.
The Education Department is required to ensure that students and teachers with disabilities are treated fairly and that low-income schools receive the resources they need to keep pace with more affluent ones. The agency also creates regulations for colleges to hold them accountable for teaching material that prepares graduates for well-paying jobs.
And it doles out billions of dollars to help people pay for college.
Read more: Can Trump eliminate the Education Department? Here’s what the Constitution says.
We’ve set out to answer other questions you might have about the Education Department, and what its downsizing might mean for your student loans, your child’s IEP and campus programs.
What will happen to my financial aid if the Education Department closes?
While Trump has promised to shutter the agency, its functions should remain because laws passed by Congress created them. Experts say although those laws should keep federal financial aid safe, Tuesday’s workforce reduction will make it much harder for the remaining agency staffers to keep up with the workload and meet students’ needs.
If the Education Department went away, which would take an act of Congress, its obligations under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 would have to be carried out elsewhere. The law passed during the Johnson administration requires the government to administer student loan programs, issue grants and ensure that schools receiving federal money don’t discriminate against students.
If the agency closed, Congress would have to pass a law putting another agency in charge of disbursing things like Pell Grants, which help lower-income students pay for college.
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Education Secretary Linda McMahon has stressed that congressionally appropriated money, including financial aid, won’t be affected by the Trump administration’s plans to downsize the Education Department.
However, the Federal Student Aid office, which Trump has proposed relocating to the Small Business Administration, lost key staff members to Tuesday’s layoffs and buyouts. Those departures could have ripple effects that impact students, according to career staffers and student advocates.
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How would closing the Education Department affect the FAFSA?
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, suffered from delays and glitches after a Biden administration overhaul that ultimately, made the online form simpler and more accessible to a larger pool of applicants.
The FAFSA, which is required to get federal financial aid, isn’t going anywhere, because it’s a legal requirement for students to fill it out.
Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) listens as Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education, testifies in a confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
But staff turnover in the department – amid proposals to move the Federal Student Aid office’s work to an entirely different agency – could create downstream problems. Transferring that office, which last year employed more than 1,400 people with a range of expertise would also be a massive undertaking that could stretch out over months, probably years.
What will happen to my student loans?
Federal student loans, like other forms of federal financial aid, will continue to be dispersed as long as Congress keeps the programs around.
Delays and problems may be likely given all the upheaval in Washington. However, laws already passed by Congress obligate the government to continue overseeing student loans.
Will my college still get funding?
Colleges are already losing federal funding, but it’s not tied to the Education Department closing. The Trump administration has taken other steps to diminish financial support for campuses, including altering research funding.A policy shift at the National Institutes of Health that would collectively strip institutions of billions of dollars was put on hold by a federal judge last week.
Federal agencies have continued to abruptly cancel and threaten contracts and grants for colleges, forcing some campuses to issue hiring freezes or pause graduate admissions.
Former U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona looks at a toy ant Zoe Spelhaug, 5, removed from her science project while teacher Sara Thomson watches in the pre-K Classroom at Avondale Elementary School.
Will my child lose IEP, special education support or 504 disability accommodations?
Special education and 504 accommodations are mandated by law and remain protected. Public schools are required under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA to provide a “free appropriate public education” to all students with disabilities. (In an interview on Fox News Tuesday, McMahon couldn’t articulate what the acronym IDEA stood for.)
It may become harder for people to file complaints under this act. The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights has resumed investigations into disability-related complaints, but only after a monthlong pause left families and advocates waiting. Then, on Tuesday, civil rights attorneys who help families resolve cases were let go.
Read more: After monthlong pause, Trump admin resumes investigating disability complaints at schools
During her Senate confirmation hearing, McMahon floated the idea of moving disability rights enforcement to the Health and Human Services Department, which is overseen by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“I’m not sure that it’s not better served in HHS,” she said three weeks ago, referencing federal enforcement of protections for students with disabilities. “But I don’t know.”
Catherine Lhamon, who led civil rights enforcement in schools during the Biden administration, denounced the idea in a recent interview.
“That transition, even in the best scenario, will cost kids time,” she said. “We don’t have time.”
Can Trump axe a federal agency?
The Constitution gives Congress the power to pass laws and directs the president to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.”
Linda McMahon, U.S. Secretary of Education, and her son Shane McMahon, left, before her testimony at a confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
McMahon, a billionaire GOP donor and former wrestling industry executive, defended the layoffs Tuesday as part of overall efforts to reduce “bureaucratic bloat” and increase efficiency.
What to expect from Trump’s plan: Deadline strikes for next wave of federal layoffs
“It’s a humanitarian thing to a lot of the folks that are there. They’re out of a job, ” she told Fox News, echoing phrasing the president used earlier that day talking about government-wide terminations. “But we wanted to make sure that we kept all of the right people and the good people.”
More: Trump’s education secretary nominee once said she had an education degree. She doesn’t.
During her confirmation hearing, she said she understood the need to work with Congress to downsize the agency and create a “better-functioning Department of Education.”
Can Congress close the Education Department?
Congress could abolish the department by passing a new law. However, given the GOP’s slim margins in the Senate, the likelihood of such legislation passing is slim. At least seven Democrats would have to go along with the vote, which would be highly unlikely given the current partisan divisiveness.
A more likely scenario is that Congress could pass legislation to reorganize the agency’s various functions, relocating them elsewhere within the government. That situation would also require Democrats to get on board, which probably won’t happen.
Contributing: Savannah Kuchar
Zachary Schermele is an education reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.
(This article has been updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What happens to student loans, FAFSA after deep Education Dept. cuts?
