Trump's Education Department layoffs got a green light. What now?

USA Today

10 hours ago

The Supreme Court said the downsizing could proceed, at least for now. What does that mean for students, parents and teachers?
WASHINGTON – Keeping tabs on President Donald Trump's campaign to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education hasn't been easy for students, parents and teachers.
The effort has been multifaceted and drawn out. And it still isn't exactly close to over.
Another big development came on June 14, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration could move forward with laying off more than 1,300 Education Department workers.
The staffers – whose responsibilities included helping protect students and teachers from discrimination, assisting college financial aid offices and compiling data about the nation's schools – were laid off in March.
The Supreme Court's green light came with caveats, though: The justices didn't rule on the merits of the case. They only allowed the agency to carry out the layoffs while a legal challenge proceeds.
Education Dept. layoffs by the numbers: See which staff were ousted, where cuts hit hardest
To be clear, there isn't much changing in the wake of this week's Supreme Court decision. All the workers who were let go in March have been locked out of their jobs since then. The difference now is that their terminations are official (unless a judge subsequently rules otherwise).
And despite all the big talk from the White House, the Education Department isn't going away: Education Secretary Linda McMahon has made it clear that she knows her agency can't be fully eliminated without the help of Congress, and the coordinated effort required (including help from Democrats) isn't likely.
Read more: What does the Education Department do? Trump gets the OK to gut it
For many onlookers, the twists and turns in the Education Department saga have been unpredictable. The news has been confusing. And the rhetoric, coming from people on both sides of the issue, has left some scared.
Here's how it all might impact you:
Your child's school
Public K-12 schools are primarily overseen at the local level by school boards. But they receive about a tenth of their funding from the federal government. And that funding has strings attached, which is where the Education Department comes in.
The agency's layoffs have three main areas of potential impact for K-12 schools.
First, there may continue to be disruptions in federal funding, which could cause other problems for school administrators trying to balance their budgets. For example, funding estimates for low-income schools that rely on Title I grants were a month late this year. That kind of uncertainty can trigger cost-cutting measures, such as hiring freezes, for districts.
In addition, there will continue to be fewer federal workers on hand to address reports of discrimination affecting students and teachers. The Trump administration has dismissed hundreds of attorneys at the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights and closed more than half a dozen regional offices.
Lastly, federal data that school administrators and teachers rely on remains in jeopardy. The National Center for Education Statistics, which oversees some of the most important educational progress assessments in the country, was reduced to just a handful of people in March. Without that data, teachers could have a harder time ensuring their students' learning is on track.
Your financial aid
Since the Education Department layoffs were announced, universities across the country have reported widespread problems in administering financial aid.
That's because the division that lost the most employees was the Federal Student Aid office, which offers students help paying for college.
Read more: Colleges report widespread problems with financial aid since Education Department layoffs
A survey of roughly 900 colleges published on May 21 revealed new bottlenecks in the federal financial aid system. Missed emails, long call wait times and broader disruptions have made it harder for universities to help students access financial assistance, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators found.
Your student loans
Student loan borrowers will continue to have fewer supports because of the layoffs.
Education Department staffers responsible for holding student loan servicers accountable won't return to work. Nor will other workers who helped borrowers with the most complicated lending issues.
Despite the lack of staffing, the Education Department's workload just grew. After President Trump signed his massive tax and spending bill into law, the agency was tasked with implementing two new loan repayment programs, as well as a complex system for holding colleges accountable.
Zachary Schermele is an education reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at [e-mail]. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.