Department of Education Moves Forward With Staff Cuts, Considers Withholding Funds

September 8, 2025

In July, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) moved forward with several executive actions impacting ED's personnel, functions, and grants to state and local education agencies (SEAs and LEAs). Three major changes audiologists and speech-language pathologists should be aware of are reductions in force, transfer of functions to other agencies, and withholding of funds.

Reductions in Force and Transfer of Functions to Other Agencies

On July 14, the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a federal court injunction and permitted ED to proceed with its previously announced large-scale reduction in force (RIF) while a pair of consolidated lawsuits challenging it proceeds in a Massachusetts federal court. This RIF is expected to include between 1,300 and 1,400 employees across the department. Combined with other staffing reductions, this will leave the department with only about 2,183 employees out of its previous 4,133.

On July 15, ED resumed efforts to transfer the administration of billions of dollars in grant funding-circulated through Title I of the Perkins Act and Title II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, as well as adult literacy programs and other initiatives-to the U.S Department of Labor.

ED had previously entered into an agreement to temporarily reassign several ED employees to the U.S. Department of the Treasury to manage collections on federal student loans. But the government has not yet publicly shared any information on whether it will carry out this agreement.

Withholding of Appropriated Funds

On June 30, ED and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) communicated to states that they will withhold nearly $7 billion in federal education funding that was due to be dispersed on July 1. These Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) funds-authorized and appropriated by Congress-are distributed via formula each year and have been included by states, districts, community colleges, and their partners as part of their planning and budgeting for the 2025-2026 school year.

The Administration told states that they would not be receiving these funds as expected because they were being "reviewed," leaving education systems and institutions with significant gaps in their school year budgets.

On July 18, the Administration announced that it would release funds for 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC). On July 25, ED announced it would release the remaining $5 billion funds to states, districts, and other grantees.

The Administration is actively considering using a so-called "pocket recission" to withhold other ED funding until it expires after the end of this fiscal year on September 30. It's also possible that ED may not submit a recission request and simply refrain from opening competitions for certain grant programs, providing continuation funding to existing grants, or issuing contracts for new work.

Education Advocacy

ASHA is advocating to protect funding and programs for the students ASHA members serve and the educational audiology and speech-language pathology services they rely on. In July, ASHA signed a letter [PDF] urging OMB and ED to immediately release the nearly $7 billion in K-12 and adult education funds that was withheld and eventually released. ASHA government affairs staff also recently participated in the Committee for Education Funding's Capitol Hill Day to encourage Congress to preserve critical education funding for programs like the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

You can amplify these efforts by taking action now to tell Congress to protect the U.S. Department of Education to ensure students have access to the services and supports they need to succeed.

For more information about ED and the changes it's facing, see ASHA Advocacy's March news piece.