IES On Track to Lose $289M

The Education Department has until Sept. 30 to spend about $289 million on education research or the money could be returned to the U.S. Treasury, according to a memo from the Knowledge Alliance, a coalition of education organizations.

To reach that figure, the alliance reviewed public documents from the Office of Management and Budget that show how the executive branch plans to spend the nearly $790 million Congress appropriated to the Institute of Education Sciences. Research for special education is expected to take the biggest hit, as IES is on track to lose about 82 percent of the funds. The Hechinger Report first reported on the alliance’s analysis.

IES is the central federal education data collection and research funding agency and maintains IPEDS, the federal postsecondary education database. Under President Trump, IES has been gutted as Education Department officials say they want to reimagine the agency.

When Congress appropriates money to IES, it gives the agency two years to spend the money, so the pot of funding set to expire Sept. 30 was allocated in 2024.

The Knowledge Alliance noted in the memo more IES funding could lapse “if the amounts currently allocated to programs are not fully spent.”

“While IES funds are being withheld, crucial activities are not being funded, including research, data collections, technical assistance and support for states,” the memo says.