The dismantling of the Department of Education (DOE)—and, in turn, U.S. public education as we know it—has begun in earnest.

Approximately 1,300 DOE employees were fired and about 600 accepted “voluntary resignation opportunities and retirement,” according to the DOE’s statement. The reduction accounts for nearly 50 percent of the DOE’s staff and leaves “roughly 2,183 workers,” according to the DOE press release.

All employees working out of the department's regional offices in San Francisco, New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, and Cleveland were fired as part of the layoffs, according to reports.

The Hechinger Report’s Jill Barshay posted on Bluesky that Tuesday night’s cuts include almost the entire staff of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), leaving the critical data collection agency that produces the Nation’s Report Card “demolished.”

These cuts come on the heels of previously laying off hundreds of probationary employees and slashing $900 million in contracts, including about $881 million in contracts of the Institute of Education Sciences, under which NCES operates.

In an interview on Fox News, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon called Tuesday night’s moves the first steps in shutting down the department, which she said was her directive from President Trump. The elimination of the department was a repeated campaign promise and is a pillar of Project 2025, a conservative playbook the administration has been implementing since Inauguration Day.

No federal department can be eliminated without an act of Congress. Closing the DOE requires 60 votes in the Senate, and such a move is not expected to have enough support to pass. There are currently 53 Republican senators. But the administration and McMahon are moving to dismantle the department from within by eliminating staff and funding, and reassigning responsibilities to other agencies. That would render the DOE unable to function as intended.

Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, responded to the cuts in a statement, saying in part: “The real victims will be our most vulnerable students. Gutting the Department of Education will send class sizes soaring, cut job training programs, make higher education more expensive and out of reach for middle-class families, take away special education services for students with disabilities, and gut student civil rights protections.

“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.”

In the Fox News interview on Tuesday night, McMahon said that the “outward facing programs and grants” funded by Congressional appropriation would not be impacted.

“None of that is going to fall through the cracks,” she said.

She did not provide details on how those responsibilities could be carried out by the much smaller staff. McMahon mentioned IDEA as an example of a department function that would not be impacted. When asked what the acronym stood for, she said didn’t know but it had to do with kids with disabilities. Prompted by the interviewer, McMahon went on to say it was her fifth day on the job, and she is trying to learn things as quickly as she can. The conversation then moved on to a different topic.

IDEA stands for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which mandates that children with disabilities receive a “free appropriate public education.” IEPs and 504 plans fall under its purview. It also governs how states and government agencies provide early intervention.

McMahon repeated the administration’s assertion that the goal is to give more control to the states. But the Department of Education does not control any district's curriculum. Its main functions for K-12 schools are funding Title I schools and ensuring students’ civil rights are protected. It also provides grants and loans to institutions of higher learning and students, including managing the FAFSA program. Its $268 billion budget accounts for four percent of the federal budget.