March 2025

In a March 25 letter, AERA and 11 other education research associations called on Congress to protect the nation’s education data, research infrastructure, and knowledge base, by safeguarding the Institute of Education Sciences and the broader Education Department staff, leadership, and mission.

In a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), AERA President Janelle Scott and Executive Director Felice J. Levine were joined by the leaders of major education research associations warning about the sudden termination of over 1,300 employees and the oversight responsibility of Congress for the Department of Education and its independent research agency.  

The joint letter was signed by AERA; the Association for Education Finance and Policy; the Association for the Study of Higher Education; the Division for Research at the Council for Exceptional Children; the International Society of the Learning Sciences; the Literacy Research Association; the National Academy of Education; the National Association for Research in Science Teaching; the National Council on Measurement in Education; the Society for Research in Child Development; the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness; and the University Council for Educational Administration.

The letter noted that among the hardest-hit offices at the Education Department was the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). Within IES, there are now only three remaining staff members at the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a cornerstone of federal education data since 1867. Other IES centers, including the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE), the National Center for Education Research (NCER), and the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER), are also operating at a fraction of their previous capacity. Additionally, 243 employees were cut from the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), and seven regional OCR offices were shuttered, raising concerns about the future of critical civil rights data collection.

The layoff, coupled with a mass cancellation of contracts at IES in February, and since followed by President Trump’s March 20 executive order, “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities,” according to the letter, “dismantles the Department’s essential research statistics agencies and their key functions, preventing them from executing their congressionally mandated responsibilities.”

The letter warns that the loss of NCES data will stop much of the education research conducted across the country. NCES produces critical reports like The Nation’s Report Card (National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP) and the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), which track disparities in education and inform federal and state policies.

“The work of IES, and specifically NCES, provides policymakers, educational leaders, researchers, families, and the business community with indispensable insights into the state of education nationwide, from pre-K through postsecondary and adult education,” the letter stated. “It is not an exaggeration to say that without NCES data, much of the education research in America will come to a halt.”

The letter noted that the federal government plays an irreplaceable role in providing high-quality, objective, trustworthy, and nonpartisan education data—work that cannot be replicated at the same economy of scale by states, local agencies, or the private sector.

The signatories urged Congress to take immediate action to restore staffing at IES and ensure the continued independence of NCES as one of the nation’s 13 primary statistical agencies.

“The Administration’s unprecedented actions are destroying the federal government’s data infrastructure and undermining necessary support for state, school districts, and institutions in improving education at all levels,” the letter said. “If Congress fails to intervene and fulfill its constitutional responsibilities, the consequences will be far-reaching. Ultimately, it will be students, educators, communities, and the nation that bear the cost.”