The Education Dept. hasn't been dismantled.
asserted
. → dismantle → ?
It's become more inefficient, staff say
asserted
staff → become → ?
The Trump administration says it wants to close the Education Department to cut bureaucracy and increase efficiency, but NPR found that changes over the last 18 months have cost an unknown amount of taxpayer dollars and made the agency's work more complex and potentially inefficient.
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work → say → dollars
NPR spoke to five Education Department employees to understand how the administration's publicly stated goals are unfolding inside the agency.
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goals → speak → agency
They all asked not to be named because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the moves and fear professional repercussions for doing so.
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they → ask → repercussions
"Cutting through layers of red tape in Washington is one essential piece of our final mission," Education Secretary Linda McMahon has said.
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McMahon → cut → mission
But some of the employees NPR spoke to said the changes have made it more difficult for them to serve states and schools who rely on billions of dollars in federal money to educate students who need the most support, including low-income students and those with disabilities.
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who → speak → disabilities
The administration has also made costly changes around where staffers work — changes that some employees say don't seem to have been made with particular improvements in mind.
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employees → make → mind
"A lot of the frustration we feel is from the fact that they came up with a solution for a problem they have not identified," an Education Department worker says.
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worker → feel → problem
Four of the staffers NPR spoke with are among the hundreds of Education employees who are now scattered across at least nine other agency buildings in Washington, including the special education and civil rights offices, which moved this month.
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which → speak → offices
Getting money to students is becoming more complicated
Despite being the smallest cabinet-level agency, the Education Department manages one of the biggest pools of federal grants, sending billions of dollars each year to states and schools.
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Department → get → states
"The funding will continue to flow," McMahon said in an interview with Fox News last year.
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McMahon → continue → News
"If the Department of Education moves different programs to different agencies, that will not shut down the funding."
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that → move → funding
The agency now says how that money gets to kids, however, should change: Some of those grants will now be sent through platforms used by other agencies instead of the single system long used at Education.
asserted
Some → say → Education
Education Department employees told NPR that other agencies' systems — including at the Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services — are not set up for education grants.
"Many of the students we serve are the kids that need extra support," says one worker responsible for overseeing hundreds of millions of dollars in grants.
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worker → tell → grants
"Personally, I'm very worried [about the money reaching those students] because they're now going to be sending out funds through a challenging, complicated system."
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they → reach → system
For instance, Title I grants, worth roughly $18.4 billion per year, go to schools where many students are from low-income families.
asserted
students → go → families
Employees from the office that oversees those grants have been moved to the Labor Department.
asserted
that → oversee → Department
Staff say these changes make it more complicated to get money to students.
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it → say → students
They say the department has tried twice to use Labor's systems to send out Title I money and other large grants, and both attempts were halted after states pushed back, citing concerns about technical problems and lack of trained staff.
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states → say → staff
The next tranche of Title I money, going out to students on Oct. 1, will be sent via the Education Department's system.
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tranche → go → system
But the department will, according to employees, try Labor's system again next year.
uncertain
department → accord → system
Other smaller, competitive grants have already switched to Labor's platforms.
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grants → switch → platforms
"It's not efficient for us and it's not efficient for them," one staffer says, referring to states and other groups that rely on grant money.
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that → say → money
"This was done haphazardly.
asserted
This → do → ?
People don't feel like they've received sufficient training on new systems."
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they → feel → systems
Some employees must learn how to use three separate grant management tools instead of one.
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employees → learn → tools
The people who receive the grants are having to do the same.
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who → receive → same
A staffer at the Office for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) works with dozens of grant recipients and says, "We spend a lot of time calming nerves, which is not what we're paid to do."
Bryce McKibben, a higher education policy expert at Temple University, works with colleges and states who rely on federal grants including for low-income student parents, and says many have been struggling.
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many → work → parents
It's hard to know where to go for information, the systems/portals have changed, the amount of guidance they've been getting has been going down," he says.
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he → know → guidance
"It all seems to be a very intentional effort to simply … make folks less likely to want federal funds in the first place."
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folks → seem → place
One of the grants that was completely transferred to Labor's systems last year was for career and technical education.
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that → transfer → education
After that change, several states reported they received their share of the money months late.
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they → report → money
Some employees who manage grants consider that situation a cautionary tale, although the following round of the same funding was sent on time earlier this summer.
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round → manage → time
When asked, Education Department press secretary Savannah Newhouse did not share details behind the initial delay but wrote in an email, "I'd hardly call successfully processing over 7,200 payments totaling over $1.93 billion since October 1, 2025, through the Department of Labor's payment system a 'cautionary tale' on inefficiency."
Scattering staff across Washington
The Education Department has physically moved hundreds of employees out of its longtime headquarters to several other federal agencies, among other steps to break up the Education Department.
Over a hundred special education staffers began reporting to work at an HHS building on Sept. 10.
asserted
staffers → ask → Sept.
Then, dozens of employees who work on student civil rights moved to the Justice Department.
asserted
who → work → Department
The Education Department also confirmed some employees have started moving from its longtime headquarters in Washington, D.C., to a smaller building roughly a block away, with more workers to follow.
asserted
employees → confirm → workers
It's all in the name of efficiency, McMahon has said: "Partnering with agencies that are best positioned to deliver results for students and taxpayers … will streamline federal education activities on the legally required programs.
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that → say → programs
The administration is using interagency agreements (IAA) to shift workers around.
asserted
administration → use → workers
IAAs have routinely allowed federal agencies to share resources and expertise.
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agencies → allow → resources
…and 39 more, not listed.
The Aporia
