How the Government Shutdown is Hurting Education

The Department of Education is in a fragile state. As the Trump Administration has sought to completely dismantle it, attacks on the Department of Education are rampant. Today, the government shutdown, in its tenth day, has led to massive layoffs for federal workers. Yet, education seems to be hit particularly hard.

The shutdown started on October 1st when Congress failed to pass appropriations for funding for the following year. After weeks of internal chaos stemming from reckless Trump Administration actions, layoffs were announced. Indeed, the federal government is planning to lay off nearly 4,000 federal government workers.

The Education Department has already suffered massive layoffs over the last two weeks, with nearly 87% of employees suspended/discharged from their jobs. Now, even more layoffs will occur across multiple departments. So, without federal employees in education, what happens to students? The effect of a weaker education workforce means a worse environment for students. Offices that oversee crucial programs such as Title I or the Every Student Succeeds Act will now suffer from massive cuts to funding and oversight. Fortunately, federal student aid is not impacted by the government shutdown, as Pell grants and federal loans are still distributed to students through FAFSA. Moreover, student loan borrowers are still able to make their payments even through the shutdown. On the higher education side, research and federal grant funding could be negatively impacted. Let's look at previous shutdowns as precedent. Funding lapses have historically led to delays, backlogs, and cancellations of important university projects. This time around, it's no different, as federal research funding is clearly not a priority of the current administration or policymakers. Moreover, during a shutdown, the enforcement of civil rights laws in schools shuts down, meaning new litigation cannot occur. In addition, education-related court cases against the Trump Administration are also on pause due to the shutdown. Broadly speaking, no new funding can be appropriated in order to help education throughout the year until the government reopens.

Education relies on the federal government in many key aspects. This month's shutdown represents a huge problem for the education sector at an even worse time. As Trump continually attacks public education, the department is in a rough state. Ultimately, Trump's attacks on education serve as a way of escalating his privatization policy goals. In K-12 education, cutting public funding to schools in favor of private establishments has been the goal of republicans all over the country for decades. Even deeper, education is the frontline against authoritarianism. Damaging higher education and elementary through secondary education is a method of quelling dissent. That's why it's so crucial to fight for education.