The Department of Education has experienced significant struggles from the government shutdown, which has led to a lawsuit from federal workers.
According to the department’s contingency plan, around 87% of its workers will be furloughed until the shutdown ceases. The department will no longer investigate civil rights complaints or issue new federal grants until normal activity resumes, but student loan processes will continue as normal.
“The majority of the Department’s grant programs typically make awards over the summer and therefore there would be limited impact on the Department’s grantmaking,” the plan said. “Grantees will continue to be able to drawdown funds from these awards, and therefore, the impacts on schools and students should be minimal.”
An FAQ released by UMass Boston stated that “a federal shutdown will not have an impact on federal financial aid since those funds have already been allocated for this academic year. As for international students, past government shutdowns have minimally affected the services provided by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Applications to sponsor employees for H-1B visa status or extend current H-1B status may be impacted.” Students affected by this are encouraged to turn to the Office of Global Programs.
The shutdown began Oct. 1 after Democrats and Republicans in the Senate failed to reach an agreement on a government funding bill passed by the House of Representatives Sept. 19. Republicans have publicly blamed Democrats for the shutdown, claiming that negotiations on federal healthcare should be separate from the discussion of government funding.
“Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate due to Democrats’ insane policy demands, which include $1 trillion in new spending,” the Office of Management and Budget wrote in a memo posted on social media Sept. 30. “Democrats will prevent passage of this clean CR prior to 11:59 p.m. tonight and force a government shutdown.”
The public blaming of Democrats has led to a lawsuit filed by a federal workers union. Employees in the DOE noticed that their out-of-office email messages had been altered during the shutdown to include the following message: “Thank you for contacting me. On September 19, 2025, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5371, a clean continuing resolution. Unfortunately, Democratic senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate, which has led to a lapse in appropriations. Due to the lapse in appropriations, I am currently in furlough status. I will respond to emails once government functions resume.”
The workers told NPR that they did not write the message, despite it being written in first-person, nor were they told the message would replace their original setup. Some employees who attempted to change the message found it soon reverted to the default one.
“Without giving notice to their employees, let alone obtaining their consent, the Department of Education has replaced employees’ out-of-office email messages with partisan language that blames ‘Democrat Senators’ for the shutdown,” the lawsuit said. “Employees are now forced to involuntarily parrot the Trump Administration’s talking points with emails sent out in their names.”
The message, experts say, is a potential violation of both the Hatch Act and the First Amendment. The First Amendment prohibits the government from compelling speech, while the Hatch Act limits political activity while in an official capacity. The explicit blaming of the Democratic Party could constitute a partisan action from Republicans, which would violate the Hatch Act.
“This whole-of-government approach to partisan messaging is unprecedented, and it makes a mockery of statutory prohibitions like the Hatch Act,” the lawsuit said. “Especially pernicious, however, are the Administration’s efforts to co-opt the voices of rank-and-file employees in the nonpartisan civil service to take part in political messaging. Forcing civil servants to speak on behalf of the political leadership’s partisan agenda is a blatant violation of federal employees’ First Amendment rights.”
