Research arm of Education Department sees cuts after DOGE review

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the research arm of the Department of Education, is facing funding cuts as it cancels more than 160 contracts. 

The American Educational Research Association and Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics said the IES notified them of 169 contracts that would be canceled. 

This happened after tech billionaire Elon Musk, who is leading a crusade to cut government spending, used his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to target the Education Department.

DOGE posted to its account on the social platform X on Monday that the department canceled “89 contracts worth $881mm” and “29 DEI training grants totaling $101mm.” 

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash) pushed back on the move in a statement shared Monday.

“Elon 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,” Murray, a senior member and former chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, wrote in a release.

“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,” she added.

The IES is responsible for funding education research, administering the Nation’s Report Card and providing data and statistics for education policy leaders.  

A department official said the National Assessment of Educational Progress, College Scoreboard and College Navigator will not be affected

“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,” Murray continued in her statement. “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.”

The IES is the latest victim as DOGE has sunk its teeth and started cutting funding to other agencies and departments such as the United States Agency for International Development.  

It also shows the first steps of what the Trump administration can do to weaken the Department of Education.  

While Trump promised to eliminate the department altogether, that would require an act of Congress. Reports show the president is instead eyeing executive actions to eliminate or move education programs in order to weaken its influence.