Dive Brief:
- Several Republican-led bills introduced in Congress this year propose how to divide up the U.S. Department of Education's responsibilities among other federal agencies — and thereby carry out President Donald Trump's plan to eliminate the 45-year-old agency.
- Some of the bills recommend transferring special education oversight and grants to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, folding civil rights enforcement into the U.S. Department of Justice, and moving student loan programs to the U.S. Department of Treasury.
- Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers have filed their own measures to prevent the Education Department shutdown and express support for the federal role in education.
Dive Insight:
Bills to shutter the Education Department have been proposed many times in past Congresses without gaining much traction. For this Congress, however, the topic is getting much more attention from lawmakers as Trump has followed through on his campaign pledges and ordered U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin planning for the agency's closure.
Already, the Trump administration has laid off half of the Education Department's staff, canceled about $881 million in contracts for the agency's nonpartisan research arm, frozen grants for teacher preparation programs, and reversed spending extensions for federal COVID-19 emergency funding approved under the Biden administration.
The moves are part of Trump's plans to dramatically reduce the size of the federal government and, in terms of education, to bring more decision-making to the states and local communities.
Actually closing the Education Department, however, needs congressional approval. Specifically, passage requires a Senate supermajority of 60 votes.
One Senate bill, the Returning Education to Our States Act, outlines where each of the Education Department's responsibilities would be transferred. The bill also proposes to convert federal education funding into block grants, which would give states more flexibility on how to spend the money, according to the bill's sponsor, Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D.
Opponents of turning formula grants into block grants, however, have said the current system provides more accountability for proper use of the funds.
Under Rounds’ proposal, the Education Department would close one year after the bill’s enactment. The changes would save $2.2 billion per year, said Rounds in an April 9 statement.
"We all know that teachers, parents, local school boards and state Departments of Education know what’s best for their students, not bureaucrats in Washington,” Rounds said.
H.R. 2456, The Orderly Liquidation of the Department of Education Act, filed by Rep Nathaniel Moran, R-Texas, proposes an Office of Education within the Health and Human Services Department, which would include a director of education position. This would essentially revert to the pre-Education Department days when an Office of Education resided within the old U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
The new director of education under Moran's bill would help the secretary of education transfer the Education Department's responsibilities to HHS. Title I and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act grants, along with other funding programs would move to HHS. Higher education grants and student loan programs would transfer to the Treasury Department.
Two other recently introduced bills, H.R. 899 and S. 1148, simply say the Education Department should be terminated on Dec. 31, 2026.
Measures by Democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, seek to preserve the Education Department's functions and affirm the federal government's role in supporting schools.
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., introduced H. Res. 94, condemning efforts to weaken or dismantle the agency.
S. Res. 133, filed by Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., outlines how the various offices within the Education Department support districts, states and higher education institutions. For example, the resolution explains how the Education Department administers grants under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to help public schools serve more than 7.5 million students with disabilities.
Trump’s "illegal attempt to dismantle the Department of Education will have disastrous consequences for our schools," said Schiff in a March 24 statement. "It will harm all students, but particularly those reliant on special education and families depending on financial aid for college.”
Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., introduced H.R. 433, the Department of Education Protection Act. The bill would prevent any Education Department funds from being used to downsize or restructure the agency.
H. Res. 237, filed by Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., who is ranking member on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, requested documents from the Trump administration on actions taken so far to dismantle the agency. But the House education committee last week voted along party lines to recommend the full House not consider or pass Scott's measure.
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