BOSTON (SHNS) - Lawmakers overseeing state education policy fear recent U.S. Department of Education staff reductions could foreshadow future federal funding cuts for special education, free community college, and more. On March 11, the department laid off nearly half of its staff after months of President Donald Trump's proposals to dismantle the federal agency and shift funding distribution to the states. Affected employees will be placed on leave starting March 21. Trump's stated plans to eventually eliminate the Department of Education will affect Massachusetts students "across the board, pre-K through higher ed," Higher Education Committee co-chair Sen. Jo Comerford said in an interview with the News Service. The threat of federal cuts looms across all sectors during an already-tight budget year, as general state tax revenue has slowed but spending appetites remain high. Democrats worry that federal education changes could sink their long-sought free community college plan, and there are risks to the values they've prioritized in schools, like diversity and inclusion, supporting low-income students, and investing in special education. "There's the $16 billion [of federal dollars] that goes into the budget, but when we think of direct federal grants on top of that, on top of the $16 billion that goes directly into the budget through Medicaid, you start to see the enormity of this," Comerford said. "We're working with the administration on priorities, contingency plans, possibly looking at the environmental bond [bill] as an opportunity to fill holes. But we cannot make up for the cuts we fear may come." U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a letter announcing the layoffs that the department would still continue to "deliver on all statutory programs that fall under the agency’s purview, including formula funding, student loans, Pell Grants, funding for special needs students, and competitive grantmaking." McMahon also told U.S. senators during her confirmation hearing that she would continue Pell Grants, which help the neediest students pay for college and which prop up the Bay State's free community college program. She also said Title I funds for low-income school districts and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funds for students with disabilities would remain. State officials, however, are wary to trust the Trump administration. "I think among some federal officials, words are tools," Education Committee co-chair Rep. Ken Gordon said. "When you're dealing with a consortium that is untethered from having to back up what they're saying, then it's different. We don't operate that way." Asked about McMahon's confirmation hearing pledges, Gordon pointed to answers conservative Supreme Court justices gave during their own confirmation hearings about the precedent of Roe v. Wade, which they later overturned. "I know that's not the topic you're talking about, but it's an example of confirmation hearings. Someone says, 'This is established law, precedent.' Then they forget it," Gordon said. The president says he is rolling back federal oversight of education to give greater power for states to control their own systems. "We have a dream, and you know what the dream is, we're going to move the Department of Education – we're going to move education into the states, so that the states, instead of bureaucrats working in Washington, so that the states can run education," Trump told reporters at the White House last week. Gordon called this a "PR message" to "offload responsibility." "You want to return power to the states? How about your money?" he said. The Education Committee chairman said he's heard Title I funding could be converted to a block grant, replacing the complex formula that the DOE now uses to distribute funding to states. A block grant would give each state a total sum for it to distribute as it sees fit. "There could be strings attached, and we hear from the federal government that they disfavor programs like DEI -- diversity, equity and inclusion -- so will they tie strings to it? We have kids that are in [Chapter] 766 schools, for kids with learning challenges and autism. Is that the type of inclusion that is targeted? Not to mention that we have a whole philosophy in Massachusetts of outreach to various communities. Do they want to look at our curriculum? What if the block grant comes with conditions? Massachusetts would get less," Gordon said. Massachusetts received $297 million from Title I in the fiscal year ending July 2024, according to an analysis by the Education Law Center which used U.S. DOE data. The research also said the state received $363 million in IDEA funding in the same time period. "With special ed funding, that's one of the biggest financial challenges for our districts. Out-of-district placement for special needs kids. It's already a strain, and now I'm afraid we're going to have even less available to families who have kids who need specialized education," Gordon said. Comerford zoomed in on Pell Grants as a particular area of worry for higher ed, as well as National Institutes of Health changes affecting universities that perform scientific and health care research. Last year, the Legislature and Gov. Maura Healey made community college free for all Massachusetts residents. Additionally, high-needs students will be able to attend four-year public colleges and universities for free starting this fall. Free community college, however, is a "last-dollar" program that fills the gaps left after accounting for federal and state financial aid. Students who want to enroll in the program are required to first complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms to see what federal government aid they qualify for. Since the free community college program is reliant on students getting federal aid, Comerford said she is "terribly worried" about Pell Grants getting cut. "It's part of the way the state has been able to scale so quickly to launch, because it's reliant on a federal program. That's something we'll have to grapple with as we build our budget," said Comerford, who is also the vice chair of the Senate's budget committee. Last year, making community college permanently free for all cost the state $117.5 million. Healey recommended $118 million towards the initiative in her fiscal year 2026 budget recommendation filed in January. Though McMahon said she plans to continue Pell Grants, there's another threat to the aid. The program is expected to run out of reserves by the end of this year, and face a $71 billion to $111 billion 10-year shortfall, according to public policy nonprofit Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which used data from the Congressional Budget Office in a report published last month. The CBO is projecting a $2.7 billion shortfall for the Pell Grant program in the coming fiscal year. A Republican-led Congress that so far this year has aligned itself with the president's agenda might have to find additional funding in the budget to make up the difference. "High quality education must be universally accessible, from early childhood to higher education degrees and technical certificates. That's why Massachusetts has significantly increased our annual investments in early education and K-12 education. It's why we made community college free to all, and four-year college tuition free in most cases for students with family incomes of less than $85,000," a joint statement from Comerford and Senate Education Committee chair Sen. Jason Lewis said. "President Trump's devastating cuts to the federal Department of Education, coupled with promises of more funding cuts, threaten access, opportunity, and equity for millions of students across the Commonwealth and the nation." ...read more read less