The Trump administration is pushing legislation that could result in a major downsizing of the Education Department’s federal oversight of schools, putting Secretary Linda McMahon closer to her goal of dismantling the agency.
The House Education and Workforce Committee on Wednesday advanced “Less Bureaucracy, Better Education,” a 10-bill legislative package that would permanently shift key responsibilities and programs to other agencies. However, officials expect the bills to face roadblocks from Senate Democrats.
To date, the Education Department has signed 14 interagency agreements with six other federal agencies, part of the administration’s “Returning Education to the States” campaign to shift even more responsibility to states and local school districts.
Lawmakers, including Congressional Democrat Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, argue these agreements contradict the agency’s claim that it’s “removing the red tape.” Scott said local education leaders will be forced to contact multiple federal agencies if the package becomes law.
“It’s just total gratuitous confusion, and they don’t have to explain why they’re doing it,” Scott told Politico. “If they say they’re doing it for efficiency, they’re lying. I mean, just lying.”
One of the bills included in the package transfers all functions of the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education to the secretary of labor. Doing so would shift major ESEA programs such as Title I, state assessment grants and intervention programs for neglected or delinquent youth.
Separate bills would also offload the functions of the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, as well as several higher ed programs, to the secretary of labor.
For instance, H.R. 9611 gives Labor responsibility for:
- Title III institutional aid, such as Strengthening Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities
- TRIO programs, which support low-income, first-generation and disabled students preparing for and succeeding in college
- Federal Work-Study
- GEAR Up, which helps middle and high school students prepare for college
McMahon described the package as a historic reform to “right-size” the federal role in education.
“For decades, the Department of Education has been a failed experiment—a $3 trillion bureaucracy that has resulted in declining test scores, ballooning student debt and misalignment between education programs and workforce demand,” she said in a statement.
‘Breaking up the bureaucracy’
The latest legislative package isn’t the only recent proposal to restructure federal oversight of education.
Last month, the Education Department said it plans to move the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services to the Department of Health and Human Services, an idea that has left special education advocates fearful for students who rely on government support.
However, last week, the department held a call with disability advocates clarifying that neither the special education office nor the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act would transition to HHS—only the staff who oversee such programs.
“The U.S. Health and Human Services is not taking over IDEA. Period,” Kelly Rogers, the Education Department’s acting assistant secretary, said during the call.
Jacqueline Rodriguez, CEO of the National Council for Learning Disabilities, questions how the restructuring would impact the timely delivery of student support.
“That is significant new information because it raises a basic question: If IDEA is staying at ED and nothing is changing for states or families, why are the staff responsible for carrying out this work being moved to HHS?” she told Disability Scoop.
But according to McMahon, the decision was largely driven by parent feedback.
“They described the challenges that abound in every part of their child’s life when they are not receiving necessary educational services,” McMahon said in a statement last month. “It should not require herculean effort to obtain what the law guarantees.”