March 28, 2025

Dear ASHE Members-

On March 25, 2025, ASHE joined the American Education Research Association (AERA) and 10 education research associations in a letter to Congressional leaders urging intervention into the sudden, arbitrary termination of more than 1,300 employees across the U.S. Department of Education, including 105 of the approximately 184 staff at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), which left only three staff remaining at the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). In addition, 243 employees from the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) were terminated, and seven OCR offices were closed; data and resources that inform policy and enforcement are also potentially at stake. We turn to Congress to ensure critical legitimate Federal functions of the Education Department are not lost, specifically that NCES and IES are restored as independent, apolitical units to serve education and the public good.

This is the third letter ASHE has signed on to this year, including a letter urging Congress to Protect Postsecondary Data and a letter to ED regarding February 15, 2025 Dear Colleague Letter. These are trying times for our scholarly community. However, I am reassured by our community. As I wrote in this year's conference theme: "ASHE is a story of progress. As the association nears its 50th anniversary, we can take stock of the organization’s beginning, past lessons, present realities, and advancing futures that are bold, collaborative, spur action, value equity and champion justice."

ASHE will continue to identify ways in which we can leverage the expertise of our members, build community, and continue the imperative work that we each do individually and collectively.

Sincerely,

Eboni M. Zamani-Gallaher, PhD

she/her

ASHE 2025 President

president@ashe.ws

Professor and Renée and Richard Goldman Dean, School of Education

University of Pittsburgh