Updated: This story has been updated with additional information and a response from the U.S. Department of Education.
Read Education Week鈥檚 follow-up coverage on the cancellation of Education Department contracts.
The Institute of Education Sciences, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education, appears to be the latest agency in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk鈥檚 Department of Government Efficiency office.
Dozens of researchers and contractors received notices Feb. 10, directing them to immediately stop work on research projects and program evaluations financed by IES, a federal agency with a roughly $800 million budget, sources say.
It was not immediately clear which鈥攐r how many鈥攐f IES鈥� hundreds of contracts are affected. A statement from the American Education Research Association and the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics put the number at 169.
In response to questions about the move, a department spokeswoman referred to a social media post from DOGE鈥攖he nickname for Musk鈥檚 department of government efficiency鈥攖outing cuts to Education Department contracts, including for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The spokeswoman was unable to immediately to respond to follow-up questions.
The institute, an independent agency within the Education Department, oversees the National Assessment of Educational Progress, evaluates federal education initiatives, and is a main source of funding for education research.
DOGE officials鈥攚ho are working under Musk, a tech entrepreneur and top adviser to Trump鈥攈ave a broad mandate to slash trillions in government spending. They鈥檝e descended on multiple government agencies, including the Education Department, scrutinizing spending and conducting interviews with employees about their job duties. They鈥檝e attempted to take possession of the Treasury Department鈥檚 spending machinery and removed the signage in front of the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID.
Federal employees鈥� unions and state attorneys general have taken legal action to stop parts of DOGE鈥檚 push to dismantle federal agencies. That may be an avenue open to researchers and organizations whose contracts were nixed.
The missives researchers and contractors received deep-sixing their projects reference the so-called 鈥渃onvenience clause鈥� in federal contracts, which allows the federal government to end a contract without cause鈥攅ven if the contractor has fully met their obligations, such as completing the research or evaluation the government asked for.
Dana Tofig, a spokesman for the American Institutes for Research, an education research organization that holds many contracts with IES and the Education Department, said that IES has issued notices of termination for convenience on multiple contracts, including those dealing with evaluations of federally funded programs and education statistics.
鈥淭his is an incredible waste of taxpayer dollars, which have been invested鈥攑er Congressional appropriations and many according to specific legislation鈥攊n long-standing data collection and analysis efforts, and policy and program evaluations,鈥� Tofig said. 鈥淭hese investments inform the entire education system at all levels about the condition of education and the distribution of students, teachers, and resources in school districts across America. Many of these contracts are nearing completion and canceling them now yields the taxpayers no return on their investment. If the purpose of such cuts is to make sure taxpayer dollars are not wasted and used well, the evaluation and data work that has been terminated is exactly the work that determines which programs are effective uses of federal dollars, and which are not.鈥�
The statement from AERA and COPFAS identified some of the immediate impact from severing the contracts, particularly for the work of the National Center for Education Statistics, the data-crunching office housed in IES.
鈥淭hese administration actions will prevent NCES, for example, from participating in international assessments; reporting data on school, college, and university finances; and collecting survey data to understand the extent of teacher shortages and chronic absenteeism in our nation鈥檚 schools,鈥� the organizations wrote. 鈥淟imiting the important work that NCES does by terminating these contracts will have ramifications for the accuracy of national-level data on the condition and progress of education, from early childhood through postsecondary to adult workforce. Without such research, student learning and development will be harmed.鈥�
鈥楢 significant impact on education innovation鈥�
The move is 鈥渄isastrous鈥� for education researchers working to improve teaching and learning, said one source connected to the research community who spoke on the condition of anonymity because so little is known about the contract cancellations.
Research embraced by Republican governors鈥攊ncluding the science of reading work to improve literacy instruction鈥攚as initially financed by IES, this source said. IES鈥� work is 鈥渃ritical to understanding what works for kids and what doesn鈥檛 work for kids,鈥� said another source connected to researchers.
Some of the research projects housed at IES are mandated by Congress, such as the annual 鈥淐ondition of Education鈥� report from the NCES.
The report includes statistics related to public and private schools, including demographic information about students and data on school finances. It was not clear how such reports were affected by the contract terminations.
The agency also conducts program evaluations that help determine the efficacy of federal programs. It often contracts with researchers to ensure those evaluations are independent. For instance, an evaluation funded by IES released a report in 2017 concluding that the Obama administration鈥檚 $7 billion School Improvement Grant program had not helped transform the nation鈥檚 lowest-performing schools.
鈥淭his will have significant impact on education innovation,鈥� said Carlas McCauley, associate dean for research and associate professor in education leadership and policy studies at Howard University. 鈥淭hese decisions not only affect the field of researchers and 糖心动漫vlog but the systems and schools that serving kids and are responsible for improving the quality of their education.鈥�
The cancellations apparently do not include one of the oldest education programs in IES: the Regional Education Laboratory program, or REL. The 10 organizations that are part of the program offer research and technical support to states and districts, such as funding research partnerships on school improvement, sources said.
Also spared: contractors working in the institute鈥檚 office of small business innovation research, which has financed some early education technology research.
And IES will still be able to finance at least some work related its most high-profile project: the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or the nation鈥檚 report card. It was not immediately clear, however, if the contract terminations affected some work related to NAEP, such as reports analyzing the data and drawing conclusions for the K-12 field.
