- The Department of Education shifted administrative duties of several of its key programs to other federal agencies.
- The Trump administration has taken several steps this year to dismantle the Education Department.
- Counted among the programs impacted by the Education Department changes is Title I — which provides federal funds to schools in low-income communities.
President Donald Trump’s oft-repeated vow to shutter the Department of Education is a step closer to reality.
On Tuesday, the Education Department announced the formation of a half-dozen interagency agreements — shifting several of the department’s critical functions across four other federal agencies: the Departments of Labor, Interior, Health and Human Services, and State.
The new agreements are expected to move billions of dollars in grant programs to sister agencies and, according to the DOE, “break up the federal education bureaucracy, ensure efficient delivery of funded programs … and move closer to fulfilling (Trump’s) promise to return education to the states.”
Perhaps most notable are administrative modifications of several key K-12 education programs, including Title I money for K-12 schools in low-income communities, from the DOE to the Department of Labor.
Tuesday’s DOE announcement marks another key moment in dismantling the embattled department since the current White House administration assumed office earlier this year.
After repeatedly calling for the end of the 46-year-old federal agency during his presidential reelection campaign, Trump signed an executive order in March seeking elimination of the Education Department.
The president has dismissed the DOE as “a big con job”— adding that he wanted Education Secretary Linda McMahon “to put herself out of a job.”
The department has already laid off a sizable percentage of its staff over the past year.
Entirely eliminating the DOE would require an act of Congress.
Last April, several Republican senators introduced the “Returning Education to Our States Act” which, if passed, would force DOE’s demise.
Some members of Utah’s congressional delegation have voiced support for abolishing the DOE, along with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox.
But some are dismayed by Tuesday’s DOE changes.
“Donald Trump and Linda McMahon are lawlessly trying to fulfill Project 2025’s goal to abolish the Department of Education and pull the rug out from students in every part of the country,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a senior member of the Senate education committee, in a statement.
“But instead of seeking congressional approval of their reckless actions to weaken our education system — which McMahon has acknowledged is necessary — Trump and McMahon are now pretending that our laws and the constitutional separation of powers are a mere suggestion.”
Murray added that the DOE’s ongoing dismantling will harm American students and families as key education programs “are spun off to agencies with little or no relevant experience.”
Education Secretary Linda McMahon: Breaking up ‘federal education bureaucracy’
Trump had previously said that many of DOE’s “useful functions” would be redistributed to “various other agencies and departments.”
On Tuesday, the DOE said the announced partnerships with several other federal departments “mark a major step” toward improving the management of select DOE programs “by leveraging partner agencies’ administrative expertise and experience working with relevant stakeholders.”
McMahon added that the Trump administration “is taking bold action” to break up the “federal education bureaucracy” and return education to the states.
“Cutting through layers of red tape in Washington is one essential piece of our final mission,” she said in the DOE release.
“As we partner with these agencies to improve federal programs, we will continue to gather best practices in each state through our 50-state tour, empower local leaders in K-12 education, restore excellence to higher education, and work with Congress to codify these reforms.”
Key shifts in education to Department of Labor, Interior and other agencies
The DOE and the Department of Labor announced Tuesday the establishment of the Elementary and Secondary Partnership.
The partnership promises to streamline agency administration of elementary and secondary education programs — while connecting DOE programs with DOL workforce programs “to better align the nation’s education and workforce systems.”
A DOE fact sheet on the partnership referenced increases in American K-12 students slipping below proficiencies in reading and math:
“At a critical juncture when students are about to graduate and enter the workforce, military, or higher education, nearly half of America’s high school seniors are testing at below basic levels in math and reading.
“Keeping K-12 programs, postsecondary programs, and workforce programs closely connected helps ensure students build the foundational skills they need early on, setting them up to graduate and pursue rewarding careers.”
Included in the partnership between the DOE and the DOL are several elements of Title I federal funding that aim to help students from low-income families achieve in the classroom.
More than 100,000 Utah K-12 students benefit from Title I money.
Several other competitive grant programs are included in the DOE/DOL partnership — including Charter School Programs, Assistance for Arts Education and American History and Civics.
The action leaves in place the Education Department’s $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio and its funding for students with disabilities, though McMahon has suggested both would be better managed by other federal departments, according to The Associated Press.
“The Labor Department is committed to working with the Department of Education to ensure our K-12 and postsecondary education programs prepare students for today and tomorrow’s workforce demands,” said Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer in the DOE release.
The DOE and the DOL are also establishing a Postsecondary Education Partnership to better coordinate postsecondary education and workforce development programs, according to the DOE release.
The DOL will assume a greater role in administering most postsecondary education grant programs authorized under the Higher Education Act.
The Education Department will retain oversight of student loan policy and the accreditation of colleges for eligibility to receive students’ federal financial aid, The Associated Press reported.
Meanwhile, states and schools should not expect any disruptions in their funding, the department said, but their federal money will now come from the Department of Labor.
Native American education programs are impacted
Another new interagency agreement — the Indian Education Partnership — connects DOE with the Department of the Interior.
“DOI will take on a greater role in administering Indian Education programs relating to elementary and secondary education, higher education, career and technical education, and vocational rehabilitation, solidifying the agency as the key point of contact for Tribes and Native students,” according to DOE.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said his agency’s partnership with DOE will enhance Indian education programs by “streamlining operations and refocusing efforts to better serve Native youth and adults across the nation.”
Grant programs in the DOE-DOI partnership include Indian Education Grants to LEAs, Special Programs for Indian Children, the Native American and Alaska Native Language Program, and The American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities program authorized by the Higher Education Act.
DOE partnerships with Health and Human Services, State departments
Tuesday’s announcement also signals new program partnerships between the DOE and the Department of Health and Human Services and the State Department.
DOE partnerships with HHS include the Foreign Medical Accreditation Partnership that will incorporate HHS in evaluating whether the standards of accreditation for foreign medical students are comparable with the standards of medical schools in the United States.
Meanwhile, the DOE and the State Department are establishing the International Education and Foreign Languages Studies Partnership.
The partnership is designed to improve efficiencies for programs administered under the Fulbright-Hays grant.
“(The State Department) already administers the Fulbright Program and is best positioned to tailor foreign education programs with the national security and foreign policy priorities of the United States,” according to the DOE release
“The partnership provides an opportunity to streamline international education program funding and data collection measures, consolidate program management, and advance national security interests.”
A DOE-provided fact sheet on the partnership with the State Department cites several examples of grant awards from the Fulbright-Hays programs that “demonstrate that these grant programs have deviated from the core mission of supporting international education for global competitiveness.”
One example noted a doctoral student who was awarded over $20,000 for a dissertation on transgender surgery in Taiwan.
Another referenced a grant awardee’s request of over $34,000 dedicated to a project examining “how queer and transgender Thai Buddhist artists in Bangkok, Thailand, and Berlin, Germany, are re-shaping contemporary Thai Buddhism.”