AEFP Lawsuit Announcement

• By: AEFP
• On: 04/04/2025 20:01:04
• In: Lawsuit Updates

We know that many of our members have faced serious challenges to their research and work due to recent funding and staffing terminations at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). This has included termination of IES contracts near completion, layoffs at many education research firms, uncertainty about existing and pending grants, and the inability to get questions answered about data and grants due to IES staff being placed on administrative leave pending reductions in force. 

We want to stand up for our members and for our mission: promoting research and partnerships that can inform education policy and finance and improve education outcomes. Recently, we were given the opportunity to join a challenge to the administration's actions as they relate to data and research infrastructure. 

We convened the AEFP Board of Directors multiple times to evaluate this option. We discussed  the need to ensure continued research infrastructure and access to data, which is core to our mission. We also considered possible risks either to the organization or to our members. The Board voted to move forward with the case. 

The complaint was filed by lawyers at  Public Citizen Litigation Group this morning on behalf of AEFP and the Institute for Higher Education Policy, a nonpartisan research, policy, and advocacy organization. It contends, among other claims, that the administration's actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act as they are arbitrary and capricious, and contrary to the statutes that require IES and its Centers to exist, and perform those functions. 

Protecting education data and research infrastructure is not a partisan issue. AEFP affiliates across the political spectrum have written compelling public statements that highlight this point. As an organization, we want to do all that we can to protect essential data and research infrastructure.

We welcome your comments & questions about this decision and any additional input on actions we can take in support of our mission.

Sincerely,

Michal Kurlaender, AEFP President
Cara Jackson, AEFP Past President
Daphna Bassok, AEFP President-Elect