The U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday revealed plans to slash nearly half its staff in what looks to be the opening salvo of President Donald Trump’s push to decimate the agency.

It’s a moment that Washington state’s education leadership has been expecting.

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction issued guidance in January on how schools should respond if federal immigration authorities show up. And Superintendent Chris Reykdal last month condemned federal efforts to bar transgender athletes from competing in girls’ sports — noting that Trump intends to withhold federal dollars from districts that don’t comply.

So, just how much federal-education funding does Washington state stand to lose?

Approximately 7% of the state’s education budget comes from the federal government, Reykdal told McClatchy. That’s much lower than what other states receive, but 7% nonetheless.

In Washington, much of that federal coin comes in what Reykdal dubbed the “Big Three”: funding aimed at supporting students with disabilities via the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Title I for high-poverty schools and money for school meals through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Of the aforementioned 7%, such programs represent about 5%, Reykdal said. The other 2% is from discretionary sources.

“They’re grants or really small things that come from the federal government, usually targeted at something specific,” he said. “Those are probably more at risk, because there’s some belief that the U.S. Department of Education has some discretion on those.”

The Big Three are congressionally authorized, Reykdal said, so OSPI is less concerned about that funding — unless Congress decides to tighten the purse strings.

“The Trump administration is very aggressive and typically very out of bounds within their authority, based on what courts are currently ruling on,” Reykdal continued. “So there isn’t, apparently, an immediate risk, but the bigger one’s certainly going to come from Congress if they take action.”

How will the education department mass layoffs affect Washington state?

On Wednesday, McClatchy attempted to contact the federal education department’s Region X office, which includes Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Idaho. A call to the Seattle headquarters did not go through.

A call to the U.S. Education Department’s press line in Washington, D.C., received a notice that the information resource center “is temporarily closed at this time.” A voicemail and email to the department were not returned.

ProPublica reports that civil rights complaints in colleges and schools are examined through a dozen of the U.S. education agency’s regional outposts. Now, seven offices will be closed. Five others, including the Seattle office, will reportedly remain.

Reykdal said that Trump signaled what he intended to accomplish upon his return to office. Even though the president previously disavowed Project 2025, the controversial federal policy blueprint, some of its goals have begun to manifest.

That includes dismantling the role of the federal government in public education.

Although OSPI was anticipating some of the actions taken by Trump 2.0, Reykdal noted that the president has helped shape today’s judicial landscape. Trump has also suggested that he might even defy the courts, he added.

OSPI will continue to follow the state’s Constitution and laws, Reykdal continued, citing the Human Rights Commission’s protections for trans and immigrant youth.

“We are going to hold to that. We absolutely are convinced that that is within existing federal law,” Reykdal said. “Just because it’s unpopular with some people — and it’s certainly unpopular with the president — doesn’t make it wrong.”

He continued: “Until Congress acts, or until this gets to the highest courts and they somehow make a different determination … then we’ll react. Maybe it’s in litigation and maybe we’ll do that, or maybe we’ll actually have to do some conforming. But that’s not what it is today.”

How much federal funding does my WA school district receive?

OSPI provided McClatchy with data showing federal funding allocations by school district in the 2023-24 school year, not including one-time emergency relief funds.

Tacoma School District received 9.35% in federal funding, according to the data. For Olympia it was 4.67%. The Bellingham and Kennewick school districts saw 6.78% and 8.98%, respectively.

For Yelm Community Schools, federal support represented about 7% of the district’s overall budget in the 2023-24 school year. Spokesperson Teresa Melone told McClatchy that Yelm received money for some programs mandated by law, “which we would need to continue to provide unless legislation is passed.”

Melone said federal dollars provided nearly $1.6 million for special education, comprising about 10% of that area’s total program expenditures of $15,769,138.

For school-meal costs, more than $1.7 million of roughly $2.5 million in program expenditures comes from federal funding, she added. That translates to a 69% share.

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