Protecting Education Research at the National Science Foundation

At the National Science Foundation, the Trump administration has initiated a purge of previously awarded grants and other funding assistance, with 1,600 grants worth $1 billion eliminated. Many of these grants are from the STEM Education Directorate and Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate. These actions are causing serious harm to the work of academic researchers, upending the progress of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars, and undermining scientific progress and the broader impacts to STEM and society.

Legal Developments

• June 20, 2025 -- AERA—in partnership with the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), American Association of University Professors (AAUP), Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN), and United Auto Workers (UAW)—filed a lawsuit challenging DOGE’s unlawful mass terminations of grants at the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the consequent harms to AERA, many of our members, and America’s scientific research enterprise. 
• June 10, 2025 -- AERA urged all PIs and co-PIs of terminated grants from the National Science Foundation across fields of science and types of awards to provide information on the impact and consequences of these terminations. AERA asked members affected by the NSF cuts to respond to a survey as soon as possible. AERA is undertaking this important survey in conjunction with other scientific societies and groups.