Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has taken a very critical view of the U.S. Department of Education

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has taken a very critical view of the U.S. Department of Education. In its recent evaluation, DOGE determined that a large portion of the department’s spending—especially within its research arm, the Institute of Education Sciences (IES)—was wasteful and did not deliver sufficient value toward improving student outcomes.

Specifically, DOGE’s review led to the termination of approximately 89 contracts totaling nearly $881 million. For instance, one contractor received about $1.5 million merely to “observe mailing and clerical operations” at a mail center, a cost that DOGE deemed unnecessary. In addition, DOGE canceled 29 diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training grants worth $101 million. According to DOGE’s assessment, these contracts and grants represented “waste, fraud, and abuse,” and they did not directly contribute to the core functions that improve educational performance—such as administering standardized assessments like NAEP or maintaining tools like the College Scorecard.

In terms of desired changes, DOGE is pushing for a radical downsizing of federal involvement in education. Their plan calls for:

1. Dismantling Redundant Bureaucracy: DOGE wants to eliminate contracts and programs that they view as bloated or unnecessary, effectively slashing spending on activities that do not have a direct, measurable impact on student learning.

2. Returning Authority to the States: They advocate for shifting the responsibility of education from the federal level back to state and local governments. DOGE argues that local authorities are better positioned to manage schools and tailor education to their communities, rather than a centralized federal agency.

3. Streamlining Operations and Cutting Costs: More broadly, DOGE’s approach is to reassign, cancel, or radically reduce federal programs that they consider inefficient. This includes a push not only against wasteful spending within the Education Department but also toward a general restructuring of federal agencies to maximize efficiency and accountability.

In summary, DOGE’s evaluation of the Department of Education is that it is overextended and burdened with unnecessary expenditure—spending that does little to directly enhance educational outcomes. Their proposed changes are aimed at drastically cutting federal spending, eliminating what they see as bureaucratic excess, and ultimately returning control over education to the states.