Education Dept. Fires All Chicago Employees, Will Cut Staff In Half

ILLINOIS ? The Department of Education has announced a wide-scale reduction of force, with plans to cut half of its staff across multiple regions.

Approximately 1,300 Department of Education employees will be laid off, the Department of Education said in a news release. Impacted Department staff will be placed on administrative leave beginning March 21, the news release said.

All employees working out of the department's regional offices in Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Boston, Dallas and Cleveland will be fired as part of the layoffs, NBC News reported.

The Department?s workforce will go from 4,133 workers to roughly 2,183 workers.

In Illinois, Department of Education offices are located in Springfield.

The Education Department said it would continue to deliver on its key functions, such as the distribution of federal aid to schools, student loan management and oversight of Pell grants. Department employees are also charged with enforcing civil rights laws in federally funded schools and colleges.

Illinois? K-12 curricula and funding comes from the state and local level, but the Education Department plays a supporting role in funding through programs such as Title I for low-income students, IDEA for students with disabilities and various grants aimed at improving student performance and ensuring equitable access to education.

Most public school funding comes from the local level, with the federal government providing an average 13.6 percent of the funding for public K-12 education nationwide in the 2021-2022 school year, according to an analysis by USA Facts of National Center for Education Statistics data.

About 10.6 percent of public school funding in Illinois comes from the federal government.

"President Trump cannot dismantle the Department of Education without Congress, yet he is attempting to bypass the legislative process and override the will of the people," Dan Montgomery, Illinois Federation of Teachers president, said Tuesday. "This is about consolidating power, rolling back civil rights, and diverting public funds to private interests. Legal experts agree that this move is unconstitutional and will face serious challenges, but the mere attempt exposes his reckless disregard for democracy and the rule of law. Public education is the backbone of our democracy, and his threats are a direct attack on it."

In Illinois, the Department of Education supports more than 2 million children across 4,000 K-12 schools, according to the Illinois Federation of Teachers. In addition, the 1.3 million students at Title I schools rely on $778 million in federal funding. Students with disabilities are accommodated with $652 million in federal support. The agency said $54 million in federal funding helps provide before- and after-school care for students with working parents.

"The U.S. Department of Education was founded to help realize the promise of a quality public school for every student no matter where they live, the color of their skin or how much money their family makes," Illinois Education Association President Al Llorens said. "It does not dictate what schools teach kids or how they educate them. It is part of the fabric that IS public education in the United States and it is public education that works as the great equalizer for our country. Dismantling USED and firing up to 50 percent of its employees will have a profound effect on schools in Illinois."

According to the Education Data Initiative, here is a breakdown of student loan debt in Illinois as residents in the state have a higher average balance remaining compared to the average.

• $62.3 billion in student loan debt belongs to state residents.
• $39,055 is the average student loan debt.
• 1,595,200 student borrowers live in Illinois.
• 52.1 percent of them are under the age of 35.
• 12.7 percent of residents have student loan debt.
• Among the state?s indebted student borrowers, 13.4 percent owe less than $5,000.
• 22.3 percent owe $20,000 to $40,000 (average $28,258).
• 2.80% owe more than $200,000.

?Today?s reduction in force reflects the Department of Education?s commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers,? Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said Tuesday. ?I appreciate the work of the dedicated public servants and their contributions to the Department. This is a significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States education system.?

Trump has said he wants to return all control of schools to states. The biggest question for many is what happens to the billions of dollars sent to run public schools every year, such as Title I funding, which supports schools in communities with high concentrations of poverty.

Educating low-income children, students learning English and those with disabilities often costs more because it requires specialized teaching or smaller class sizes. Districts without a strong tax base to fund schools often struggle to meet these students? needs, which Congress recognized by authorizing the money.

The White House has drafted an executive order launching the process to dismantle the Department of Education and pushing Congress to make it official.

?The experiment of controlling American education through Federal programs and dollars?and the unaccountable bureaucrats those programs and dollars support?has failed our children, our teachers, and our families,? the draft order reads.

It?s not clear when Trump will sign the order.

The union representing more than 2,800 Education Department workers pledged to fight the ?draconian cuts? and urged Americans to contact their representatives in Congress to intervene.

?What is clear from the past weeks of mass firings, chaos, and unchecked unprofessionalism is that this regime has no respect for the thousands of workers who have dedicated their careers to serve their fellow Americans,? Sheria Smith, president of the American Federation of Government Employees chapter representing Education Department staff, said in a statement. ?It is also clear that there is a rampant disinformation campaign to mislead Americans about the actual services, resources, grants, and programs that the U.S. Department of Education provides to all Americans.?

The National Education Association, which lobbied for the department?s formation in the 1970s, decried the cuts, saying they will send class sizes soaring.

?Firing ? without cause ? nearly half of the Department of Education staff means they are getting rid of the dedicated public servants who help ensure our nation?s students have access to the programs and resources to keep class sizes down and expand learning opportunities for students so they can grow into their full brilliance,? NEA President Becky Pringle said in a statement.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.