Democratic leaders in Congress want Acting U.S. Secretary of Education Denise Carter to provide a range of information to confirm the Education Department is ensuring continuity of programs and that safeguards are in place to protect student privacy, according to a letter sent Wednesday.
Citing the Education Department’s status as a target of President Donald Trump and his advisors “since even prior to his inauguration,” the group of five senators and representatives highlights media reports that the department could face actions similar to those at the U.S. Agency for International Development.
At USAID, security officials were placed on leave over the weekend after refusing members of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency access to sensitive data. On Monday, according to the letter, more than 600 USAID staff were locked out of systems and placed on leave.
Trump and Musk have said DOGE’s actions are part of an effort to reduce federal bureaucracy and waste.
The letter — signed by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia and Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut — expresses concerns about a number of actions at the Education Department since Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
According to the letter, workers have been placed on leave for attending diversity trainings promoted by former education secretary Betsy DeVos, who served during Trump’s first term, and have been “coerced” into leaving their jobs via buyouts offered to all federal workers by the Trump administration.
Additionally, the letter cites reports that DOGE staff have accessed internal systems at the Education Department that include financial aid systems with the personally identifiable information of millions of students. According to The Washington Post, DOGE staff have fed data including personally identifiable information and sensitive internal financial data into artificial intelligence software to target cuts at the department.
“If these reports are true, they raise profound questions about how highly confidential data is being used and by whom,” said Elizabeth Laird, director of Equity in Civic Technology at the Center for Democracy and Technology, in a Thursday email. “Dumping large amounts of sensitive data, including personally identifiable information like social security numbers and family income, into a general-use AI system significantly increases security risks. We haven’t seen any proof that this kind of use is safe and trustworthy.”
People who have shared their information with the agency deserve to know it’s being kept safe and secure, said Laird.
The letter from Democratic leaders requests that Carter, by Friday, provide:
- A list of all individuals — including job titles, offices and status as federal government employees — given access to personally identifiable or sensitive information since Jan. 20. The requested information should also include the training they were provided, the specific information they were granted access to, the legal purpose for that access, and whether students have been notified of that access.
- An explanation of all steps the agency has taken to protect sensitive, personally identifiable data such as the kind held in the National Student Loan Data System, the Common Origination and Disbursement system, and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid Processing System.
- A list of everyone placed on administrative leave or terminated since Jan. 20, including their job title, responsibilities, office and reason for leave or termination.
- All communications to employees placed on administrative leave or terminated since Jan. 20.
- Confirmation the agency hasn’t frozen, paused, impeded, blocked, canceled or terminated any awards or obligations since Jan. 20, beyond the diversity, equity and inclusion-related training and service contracts announced in a Jan. 23 press release.
“We will not stand by and allow the impact that dismantling the Department of Education would have on the nation’s students, parents, borrowers, educators, and communities,” the letter reads. “Congress created the Department to ensure all students in America have equal access to a high-quality education and that their civil rights are protected no matter their zip code.”
The letter comes one day after Rep. Susan Bonamici, D-Ore., introduced a House Resolution condemning actions to defund public education or to weaken or dismantle the Education Department.
Both the letter and resolution come amid reports of an impending executive action to dismantle the Education Department. Last week, Rep. Thomas Massie, R- Ky., also reintroduced a bill calling for the department’s termination on Dec. 31, 2026.
In late January, K-12 and higher education leaders were alarmed by a directive that would have temporarily frozen federal funding across agencies including the Education Department. That move was halted by a U.S. District judge shortly before it was set to take effect Jan. 28.
