Bush-era Education secretary wary about FAFSA disruptions as department faces dismantling

Plans to dismantle the Department of Education could rattle operations for incoming college students launching into enrollment season, according to former President George W. Bush’s Education secretary. 

While President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to scale down the Department of Education, he also promised that programs that oversee financial aid and resources for children with special needs would remain in place. They would, instead, fall under other agencies, he said. 

However, Margaret Spellings, who oversaw the agency from 2005 to 2009, said shuttering and realigning certain functions of the Education Dept. would not be a seamless transition – and it is unclear whether there is enough staffing to properly process all the necessary materials as students commit to colleges for the fall. 

“It’s college enrollment season, and are our universities – as the customer service part of that operation – going to be able to timely get information about financial aid packages and so on?” Spellings, now the president and CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center, asked Fox News Digital. “Will half the people be able to do all the work? Time will tell. So that’s an immediate concern.”

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The Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid processes over 17.6 million Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms annually, according to its 2024 report. Additionally, the office previously employed roughly 1,400 personnel. 

However, given the dramatic cuts to staffing, it is unclear how many are currently assigned to that office. Prior to signing the executive order to overhaul the Education Dept., the agency also moved to cut staffing by roughly half. 

Spellings also predicted transferring the different functions of the Education Dept. to other agencies would prove “disruptive,” because it would involve potentially training new employees and merging various data systems. As a result, she cautioned, it could detract from focusing on student achievement. 

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