Reporting and audio investigations document sweeping changes inside the Department of Education since the Trump administration’s reorganization effort began, including contract cancellations, terminated longitudinal studies and the loss of regional labs. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team’s early actions this year included canceling more than 100 contracts and halting projects such as an 11‑year study of youth with disabilities and key datasets used by states. Researchers and contractors say decades of infrastructure and institutional knowledge were disrupted overnight, leaving states and universities without critical pilot data and evaluation services. Higher-education researchers warn that rebuilding those systems will require sustained funding, restored contracts, and a commitment to long-running data collection—otherwise policy decisions and evidence-based interventions risk being made without reliable national-level education statistics.