Education Department Impacted by Layoffs as Federal Student Loan Website Goes Offline

StudentAid.gov underwent an extended outage on Wednesday, shedding light on staffing reductions within the Department of Education, as per reports from various sources, including the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Multiple users encountered difficulties with the crucial FAFSA form for financial assistance, according to Downdetector. Over 300 employees from Federal Student Aid, including the entire FAFSA systems management team, were laid off, as disclosed by a source speaking anonymously to The Associated Press. Allie Bidwell Arcese, a spokesperson for NASFAA, expressed apprehension about the Education Department's lack of communication concerning the outage.