Major DOE offices reassigned to Labor, Interior, HHS, and State as federal oversight shrinks and staff are slashed.
Jonathan Roman | Staff Writer
On Nov. 18, the Department of Education announced a sweeping shift of crucial responsibilities of the DOE to other federal agencies. This marks an unprecedented step towards dismantling the department, a campaign promise by President Trump.
Under a newly approved interagency agreement, six of the DOE’s offices will now be reassigned to four federal agencies. Including the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, Interior, and State. For now, the Office for Civil Rights, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, and Federal Student Aid will remain at the DOE, while officials determine where the responsibilities can be shifted.
The Department of Education’s functions include the distribution of federal funds to schools, overseeing student aid programs, and enforcing civil rights laws that protect students with disabilities. Despite the Trump administration’s claims, most education policy remains under the control of the state government.
Outline of Transfers
- The Office of Elementary Secondary Education and the Office of Postsecondary Education will be moved to the Department of Labor.
- The Office of Indian Education will shift to the Interior Department.
- Childcare and Foreign Medical Accreditation programs will move under the Department of Health and Human Services.
- The State Department will absorb the International Foreign Language Education program.
This marks the largest restructuring of the department since President Trump signed an executive order directing Secretary Linda McMahon to begin dismantling the department. Now, the goal of the Trump Administration has shifted to demonstrating that the DOE can be phased out.
Although only Congress has the authority to close the DOE, the Trump administration’s move to end the DOE is the most significant attempt in a long-standing conservative effort to close the agency, since its creation in 1975.
Since Trump’s order, Secretary McMahon has aggressively made administrative decisions to shrink the staff. Earlier this year, layoffs hit the agency, cutting nearly half of the department’s workforce. A key office affected is The Office of Special Education Programs, previously staffed by between 80-90 employees; now fewer than 5 employees remain. This office is tasked with ensuring rights and services for students with disabilities across the country.
Secretary McMahon said, “The Trump administration is taking bold action to break up the federal education bureaucracy and return education to the states”. Adding, “Cutting through layers of red tape in Washington is one essential piece of our final mission. 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. Together, we will refocus education on students, families, and schools, ensuring federal taxpayers’ spending is supporting a world-class education system”.
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