The Department of Education took a focused step toward dissolving itself on Tuesday as it announced six interagency agreements to offload grant programs from the DOE’s jurisdiction to other federal agencies.
The six programs will be overseen by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Interior, Labor, and State. HHS will take over grant programs for parents who attend college and need childcare, as well as manage foreign medical school accreditation. The DOI will oversee the country’s Native American education programs. The DOL is assuming DOE’s K-12 and post-secondary education office. The State Department will cover foreign language programs.
“The Trump Administration is taking bold action to break up the federal education bureaucracy and return education to the states,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement. “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.”
A key component of the Trump administration’s DOE agenda is the dissolution of the agency itself. The president has said he is committed to returning education authority to the states.
“Families from Florida to California should be excited about the changes made to the Department of Education today,” Paul Runko, director of strategic initiatives at Defending Education, told National Review. “These new and better ways of getting students what they need in school will not only give parents and teachers more control over their kids’ and students’ education but also streamline getting cash to classrooms.”
The DOE will maintain its control over $1.6 trillion in student loans, as well as funding for students with disabilities.
“This shift breaks apart entrenched bureaucracy and clears away red tape so federal support can reach students and schools more quickly and efficiently,” Runko said.