DOGE Cut Education Research Contracts. Congress Is Still Catching Up.

Lawmakers mandated the Department of Education to report data on American education outcomes. “There’s been no attempt to preserve what the public paid for,” one federal worker said.

Department of Education building

Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via AP

The Department of Government Efficiency has severed dozens of contracts that helped the Department of Education meet congressionally mandated data reporting requirements.

Now, federal workers at the department say they are paralyzed in their jobs — left unsure if the cuts mean the agency will default on statutory mandates to collect, analyze and report statistics on the state of American education.

Meanwhile, in Congress, lawmakers who have previously been on the record in support of these reporting requirements are still catching up on what exactly DOGE has slashed.