...Multiple former and current staff say the department is struggling to fulfill its statutorily mandated responsibilities, from administering federal student aid to enforcing antidiscrimination laws. “They don’t have the capacity to do their federally mandated work,” said a former staffer of over a decade. “When they say they do, they’re either lying or willfully ignorant.”
Administration officials themselves seemed to realize that at least some of the positions they eliminated were, in fact, essential. Last week dozens of employees who had been laid off received emails from the department’s chief human capital officer reinstating their employment.
“Effective immediately, the notice you received … regarding Reduction in Force is rescinded,” the email read, according to a screenshot shared with Inside Higher Ed and independently verified. “We are in the process of reactivating your accounts. Please report to your regular duty station.”
Multiple sources at the Office of Federal Student Aid confirmed that 50 employees at the agency who were originally laid off had their RIF notices rescinded; all of them worked in the agency’s tech office. A week earlier, the website for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid—the main software responsibility of the agency—had experienced nationwide service outages, preventing students and families from applying for aid...
Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/politics-elections/2025/03/25/education-department-staff-struggle-after-mass.
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