* Chalkbeat…

The U.S. Department of Education announced Tuesday that it’s cutting its workforce nearly in half — a move that Education Secretary Linda McMahon said is a first step toward eliminating the department.

Roughly a third of staff will lose their jobs through a “reduction in force,” the department said in a press release. Combined with voluntary buyouts, the Education Department will have just under 2,200 employees by the end of the month, compared with 4,133 when President Donald Trump took office with promises to shutter the department. […]

Affected staff will be placed on administrative leave starting March 21, the department said. Ahead of the announcement, workers were told to leave the office by 6 p.m. Tuesday and that the office would remain closed until Thursday “for security reasons.” McMahon later said this was standard corporate process when layoffs occur. […]

The Education Department administers major federal funding programs such as Title I, which provides extra money to high-poverty schools, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, which supports special education. It also investigates civil rights complaints and oversees an accountability system that pushes states to identify low-performing schools and provide them with additional resources.

* Chicago’s office will be closed. ProPublica…

With a mass email sharing what it called “difficult news,” the U.S. Department of Education has eroded one of its own key duties, abolishing more than half of the offices that investigate civil rights complaints from students and their families. […]

The Office for Civil Rights’ locations in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco are being shuttered, ProPublica has learned. Offices will remain in Atlanta, Denver, Kansas City, Seattle and Washington, D.C.

* ABC Chicago…

In its statement on Tuesday night, the DOE said it will continue to deliver on all statutory programs that fall under its purview, including student loans and funding for students with special needs.

Looking ahead, officials say remaining department employees will be teleworking for safety reasons on Wednesday.

* But nobody really knows yet how federal funding will ultimately change. Sun-Times…

If federal education funding was reduced by Congress or by other means, Illinois and Chicago schools wouldn’t lose the majority of their education money. But they would be hurt.

Most school funding comes from local property taxes and the state.

This school year, for example, federal funding makes up about 16% ($1.3 billion) of the $8.4 billion Chicago Public Schools operating budget.

* Governor Pritzker…

Donald Trump is failing the test of leadership again.

Instead of proposing any plans to improve math and reading scores for students, he’s tearing down the Department of Education and making it harder for working class kids to get ahead.

* Illinois Education Association…

Illinois Education Association President Al Llorens released the following statement reacting to Donald Trump’s gutting of the U.S. Department of Education:

“The U.S. Department of Education (USED) was founded to help realize the promise of a quality public school for every student no matter where they live, the color of their skin or how much money their family makes. It does not dictate what schools teach kids or how they educate them. It is part of the fabric that IS public education in the United States and it is public education that works as the great equalizer for our country. Dismantling USED and firing up to 50 percent of its employees will have a profound effect on schools in Illinois. Several programs could be impacted, for instance:

- More than 1,000 school districts in the state receive Title 1 money, funds set aside to help schools with the most impoverished students. This money helps 960,095 students in our state.
- More than 1,000 districts also receive funding through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a federal law that ensures children with disabilities receive free and appropriate education. At least 295,261 Illinois students benefit from these funds.
- Another 264,460 Illinois college students receive Pell grants – money to help the neediest students afford a college education.
- And more than 28,000 students in Illinois are enrolled in Head Start, a program designed to support children’s growth from birth to age 5 through services centered around early learning and development.

These are valuable and needed initiatives that serve our most vulnerable. The Illinois Education Association knows, because we ask Illinoisans each spring about their opinions on public education in Illinois in our annual and bi-partisan State of Education in Illinois. Illinoisans report that:

- Four in five schools in our state are already underfunded and 80 percent of our state believes funding for public education should increase.
- Ninety-one percent of Illinoisans agree that every child in Illinois has a right to an education at a public school.
- And, 92 percent believe that every child with a disability has the right to a public education in our state.
- Only 11 percent of our state’s residents believe that politicians should have any voice in how public schools are run.

Cutting USED will be deeply harmful to Illinois students and our communities. Ninety percent of the students in our state attend public schools and 95 percent of students with disabilities are students within our buildings. Making broad-based cuts like those ordered today doesn’t affect faceless bureaucrats, it affects our kids. We will fight this action. As the largest educator organization in Illinois, it is our mission to do so.”

* Illinois Federation of Teachers…

“President Trump cannot dismantle the Department of Education without Congress, yet he is attempting to bypass the legislative process and override the will of the people. This is about consolidating power, rolling back civil rights, and diverting public funds to private interests. Legal experts agree that this move is unconstitutional and will face serious challenges, but the mere attempt exposes his reckless disregard for democracy and the rule of law. Public education is the backbone of our democracy, and his threats are a direct attack on it.

“In Illinois, the Department of Education supports more than 2 million children across 4,000 K-12 schools. The 1.3 million students at Title I schools rely on $778 million in federal funding. Students with disabilities are accommodated with $652 million in federal support. Additionally, $54 million in federal funding helps provide before- and after-school care for students with working parents.

“At the federal level, the Department of Education invests in two- and four-year colleges and trade development programs, making higher education and career training more accessible. The $63 billion in federal student loans and $1 billion in Pell Grants help 1.8 million students afford college. Eliminating the DOE and cutting these programs would devastate millions of students and families who rely on these critical resources. These cuts threaten the future of the American workforce and will shrink the middle class.

“The IFT and its 103,000 members will not back down. We will continue organizing, mobilizing, and fighting to protect our students, our schools, and the communities we serve. Trump’s attacks on public education will not go unchallenged—we are ready, we are united.”