A February 17, 2025 U.S. Department of Education (USDE) $600 million cut in “divisive” teacher training grants will do great harm to partnerships that support the teacher pipeline. Despite teacher shortages across the country, the cost-cutting measures led by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), will significantly hamper efforts to staff schools. Two of the most common federal grant programs impacted so far are the Teacher Quality Partnership Program and the Supporting Effective Educator Development Grant, targeting funds to institutions and nonprofits that were using training materials on topics such as critical race theory and diversity, equity and inclusion. The department added that “many of these grants included teacher and staff recruiting strategies implicitly and explicitly based on race.”

DOGE has reported this week that the USDE is leading among other federal agencies for the most savings in total funding cuts.

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