Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs Almost $1 billion in cuts have been made to the Department of Education by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).The fate of the department’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES), which tracks the progress of the nation’s students, remains unclear after scores of contracts were terminated by Musk’s team on Monday, according to the Associated Press.Madison Biedermann, a spokesperson for the Education Department, told the AP that the cuts will not affect the institute’s primary work, including the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the nation’s report card, and the College Scorecard, a database of university costs and outcomes.The Education Department has been contacted for additional comment via email outside of normal working hours.
Elon Musk, his son X Musk and Donald Trump (right) at the White House on February 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Elon Musk, his son X Musk and Donald Trump (right) at the White House on February 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Why It MattersTrump has pledged to shut down the Department of Education, saying the agency’s power should be transferred to states and schools.He is reportedly preparing to sign an executive order that would direct his education secretary to dismantle the agency as much as possible and urge Congress to fully eliminate it.Meanwhile, Musk’s DOGE has begun making cuts across the federal government as critics sound the alarm about the unelected billionaire’s power and the lack of transparency about his work. Musk, who has been working as a “special government employee,” on Tuesday defended the cuts at the White House, where Trump signed an executive order to expand Musk’s influence and continue downsizing the federal workforce.What to KnowAt least 169 contracts within the IES were terminated on Monday, according to the American Educational Research Association and the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics.Some of the biggest were for long-term studies that track students’ learning from kindergarten through high school, a study evaluating strategies for teaching elementary school reading and research on the effectiveness of support for young people with disabilities, the AP reported, citing a list of the cuts it obtained.Also being cut is a study exploring how to accelerate math learning for students in fourth and fifth grade, the AP said.A post on the DOGE account on X on Monday night said that 89 contracts worth $881 million had been terminated. The post said it included $1.5 million to a contractor whose job was to “observe mailing and clerical operations” at a mail center.An earlier post said 29 grants totaling $101 million for training in diversity, equity and inclusion had been cut.What Does the Department of Education Do?The department annually distributes billions in federal money to colleges and schools, manages the federal student loan portfolio and administers financial aid.It oversees the NAEP, tracking student achievement, and research of most aspects of education, which are disseminated to educators. It also makes recommendations for educational reform.The Department of Education also plays an important regulatory role, enforcing civil rights statutes to ensure equal educational opportunities for all students, ranging from those with disabilities and limited English proficiency to low-income and homeless kids.What People Are Saying Democratic Senator Patty Murray, who is on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said in a statement: “Every kid deserves a great public education and that can’t happen without nonpartisan research and data to understand what’s working and what needs to be fixed. Instead, an unelected billionaire is now bulldozing the research arm of the Department of Education—taking a wrecking ball to high-quality research and basic data we need to improve our public schools. Cutting off these investments after the contract has already been inked is the definition of wasteful.”Murray added that Musk “doesn’t care if working class kids in America get a good education, so whittling down the Department of Education means nothing to him. Make no mistake, this is just the first step Trump and Musk are taking to abolish the Department of Education, leaving our public schools with fewer resources and support to pay for massive tax cuts for billionaires and giant corporations.”Felice Levine, executive director of the American Educational Research Association, said in a statement that NCES “is congressionally mandated to collect data on many aspects of education across the lifespan and, with limited resources and staff, has relied on contracts to conduct this work.”These administration actions will prevent NCES, for example, from participating in international assessments; reporting data on school, college, and university finances; and collecting survey data to understand the extent of teacher shortages and chronic absenteeism in our nation’s schools. Limiting the important work that NCES does by terminating these contracts will have ramifications for the accuracy of national-level data on the condition and progress of education, from early childhood through postsecondary to adult workforce. Without such research, student learning and development will be harmed.”Elon Musk told reporters on Tuesday: “I fully expect to be scrutinized and get a daily proctology exam basically… It’s not like I think I can get away with something. I’ll be scrutinized nonstop.”President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday: “Billions of Dollars of FRAUD, WASTE, AND ABUSE, has already been found in the investigation of our incompetently run Government. Now certain activists and highly political judges want us to slow down, or stop. Losing this momentum will be very detrimental to finding the TRUTH, which is turning out to be a disaster for those involved in running our Government. Much left to find. No Excuses!!!”What’s NextThe Trump administration is likely to continue moving to slash the department’s spending, but it’s not clear how far it can go, since much of it is ordered by Congress.An executive order directing the dismantling of the agency could come as early as this month, according to a report.
