Statement from All4Ed CEO Amy Loyd on Reductions of Career Staff at the U.S. Department of Education
March 11, 2025
Contact: Enrique A. Chaurand
Email: echaurand@all4ed.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. — This evening, the U.S. Department of Education announced a drastic reduction in its workforce, saying it’s preparing to cut about half of its staff. These draconian cuts will have a devastating impact on our nation’s students. Amy Loyd, CEO of All4Ed, issued the following statement in response:
“How do you, effectively, dismantle the U.S. Department of Education without going through Congress as the law requires? You cut half of its workforce.”
“President Trump, DOGE and the Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, betrayed the American people, but most tragically they betrayed our young people and learners of all ages. By gutting the career staff of the Department of Education – our dedicated civil servants who work tirelessly on behalf of our entire nation – this administration is stripping critical resources our students and educators need to ensure their futures are not in jeopardy. Their futures are our futures.
“Tonight’s action by Secretary McMahon and the Trump administration will throw our nation’s education system into chaos and disrupt essential programs and services at a time when students, educators, and families need strong federal support and leadership. They deserve better.
“At the same time as the Trump administration takes this reckless action, the House of Representatives passed legislation on a party-line vote that would continue funding for the Department but grant this administration unprecedented flexibility over how to spend federal funds—flexibility they have demonstrated they will not handle responsibly, and which will do harm to our students.
“While it is unclear exactly how specific programs, offices, and critical funding streams will be affected, it is certain this action will mean the agency cannot fully carry out its core functions – ensuring students with disabilities get the supports that they need, that students learning English have meaningful and engaging education, that schools that need the most support get it, that teachers can continue to learn and grow and show up for their students tomorrow, and that college students have the funds to return to school next fall.
“These individuals – my former colleagues – have worked across administrations, serving our nation’s students first and the President second, regardless of party. Their expertise and institutional knowledge cannot be replaced.
“We said we would hold Linda McMahon accountable to the responsibility of this esteemed office, and today we see that our concerns were justified. This callous purge of expertise is not just a bureaucratic reshuffling – it’s an attack on the very foundation of education opportunity in our nation. We call on Congress to exercise its oversight authority immediately. We demand transparency about which critical programs face disruption. And we stand ready to mobilize every parent, educator, and concerned citizen to protect what generations have built.
“Our children’s futures hang in the balance. We will not be silent. We will not stand down. And we will remember who chose political theater over educational stability when our children needed champions the most.”
###
