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The Trump administration has ended its more than $900 million education sector contract, stealing critical sources of data on the country’s school quality and performance.
The reductions were made at the request of the government’s efficiency, Elon Musk’s cost-cutting crew, disclosed in X, Mask is a social media platform that owns the mask. Institute of Research and Statistics, Institute of Educational Sciences.
Department spokesman Maddie Biederman said the national assessment of education advancements, a standardized test known as the national reporting card, will not be affected. The university scorecards would also not allow them to search and compare information about the university, she said.
IES is one of the nation’s largest educational and research funders, and contract reductions could mean a significant loss of public knowledge about schools. The Institute compiled and published data on schools annually, including information on crime and safety in schools and information on completion of high school science courses. The Institute is a massive collection of educational statistics and contracts with scientists and education companies. Maintaining a database.
The total annual budget is approximately $815 million, or about 1% of the overall education sector budget. The $900 million contract that the department has cancelled includes a multi-year agreement.
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The vast number of data represents much of what we know about the roughly 130,000 schools in the United States, and without a national repository of data and statistics, parents and educators can track schools, and Comparing student achievements across the state is difficult.
There was a Federal Bureau of Education Statistics since 1867, but the current iteration was established in 2002 under President George W. Bush. Congress has secured funding for the institute’s work.
Biedermann, assistant director of communications for the education department, told Propublica he could not provide details about the cancelled contract, saying “My understanding is not making any particular information public.”
However, she said there are 90 contracts identified as “waste, fraud, abuse.” She says cancelling them “aligns with the department’s goal of ensuring that they are focused on meaningful learning,” and “ensure that taxpayer funds are used appropriately.” I’ll do it.”
She oversaw a reporter on X’s Doge account for details.
In his post, Doge wrote: “Today, the Department of Education has ended its 89 contract worth $881 million. One contractor was paid $1.5 million to “observe mail and administrative operations” at the mail center. ”
The Trump administration has repeatedly expressed its desire to “return” responsibility for schools to the state, but state and local governments already control the largest share of funding for education. There is no national curriculum. The state and district will teach and decide what to direct their policies.
The Education Institute, a nonprofit organization conducting research in education and other fields, received notification of termination of multiple ongoing contracts on Monday, and canceling them early is a financial statement. He said the decision was insufficient.
“This is an incredible waste of taxpayer dollars, which many are invested in, according to Congressional budgets, in their long-standing data collection and analysis efforts, and in their policy and program evaluations,” spokesman Dana Tofig of the company said in an email. The nonprofit has been contracting with the department for many years.
Schools and districts across the country rely on research from contractors such as labs such as the American Institute to guide best practices in the classroom.
First I got a warning sign. The teen then fired fire at a school in Nashville.
“These investments inform the entire education system at all levels of the educational conditions and distribution of students, teachers and resources in school districts across the United States,” Tofig said.
“If the purpose of such reductions is to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not wasted and not often used, then the valuation and data work that has been terminated is the effective use of federal dollars. , the task is to decide whether or not.
Sen. Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, has denounced the contract termination in IES. “Unelected billionaires are currently bulldozing the Department of Education’s research department. We need to put beer on high quality research and basic data and improve public schools,” she stated. I mentioned it in. “Reducing these investments after the contract has already been inked is the definition of waste.”
We continue to report on the U.S. Department of Education. Are you a former or current education employee? Are you a student or a school employee? Will the department change be affected? You can reach the tip line of the signal on 917-512-0201. Be as specific, detailed and clear as possible.
