DOGE recently announced on the social media platform X that it had cut more than $900 million in contracts at the Education Department. News reports state that this primarily affected work at the Institute of Education Sciences, which collects an array of information about students and schools across the US.
The Education Department is the smallest cabinet-level agency in terms of employees, as well as one of the newest. It began operating in May 1980, after President Jimmy Carter signed the Department of Education Organization Act on October 17, 1979.
The department’s budget was $268.4 billion in FY 2024, 4% of the federal budget and the sixth highest share among federal agencies. More than half the department’s budget ($160.7 billion) was for student aid. Another $83.0 billion went to elementary and secondary schools. For comparison, the Institute of Education Sciences had a budget of $800 million.
Education is primarily a local and state responsibility, with local governments funding elementary and secondary schools and state governments funding a lot of higher education.
In FY 2024, the Department of Education transferred 25.4% of its total spending to state and local governments.
Spending for the Department of Education has increased 371.6% since FY 1980 while overall federal spending has risen 193.7%.
