Education Department Shifts Four More Programs to Other Agencies

The Education Department on Tuesday announced four additional interagency agreements that transfer selected responsibilities to other federal agencies. Special education and rehabilitative services will move to the Department of Health and Human Services.

The Department of Justice will assume civil rights enforcement, student privacy protection, and training and advisory services previously handled by the Education Department.

Background on the Transfers The moves follow an executive order issued last March directing the department to return control of education functions to the states. With Tuesday’s announcement, Education Secretary Linda McMahon has now signed a total of 14 such agreements.

McMahon said the transfers aim to align services with agencies best positioned to manage them. “Through our partnership with HHS, we will align federal services with the goal of strengthening academic outcomes and supporting individuals with disabilities so that they can achieve greater independence, key life skills, and meaningful employment,” she stated.

The Supreme Court allowed the process to continue last August while lower-court challenges proceed. Congress authorized the department’s budget for roughly $79 billion earlier this year, matching the prior year’s allocation. McMahon previously sought to reduce the department’s workforce of 4,200 by about 1,400 positions.

She told lawmakers in November that successful transfers could later be made permanent through legislation. Frederick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute noted that the agreements create procedural hurdles for any future reversal, because a subsequent administration would need to unwind staffing and funding arrangements already in place.