The Trump administration announced on Tuesday plans to move programs for disabled students into the Health and Human Services Department and the enforcement of civil rights laws in schools to the Justice Department, in the White House’s most aggressive move yet to dismantle the Education Department.
Eliminating the Education Department requires an act of Congress, and disability groups have argued so does the moving the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. The office oversees $15 billion a year in funding for students with disabilities and enforces compliance with the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act.
The Education Department will also shift duties for its Office for Civil Rights, which for decades has enforced anti-discrimination laws related to schoolchildren, to the Justice Department.
The American Federation of Government Employees Local 252, which represents about 2,000 current and former Education Department workers, immediately criticized the announcement, describing the moves as part of the Trump administration’s attempt to “unlawfully dismantle the Education Department.”
“This will leave our most vulnerable students and families who have been shut out of our education system without the services they need and without protection when they face discrimination,” said Rachel Gittleman, the president of A.F.G.E. Local 252. “This isn’t efficiency; it’s chaos.”
Education Department officials said students, parents and educators would not experience any change in services. But additional details were not immediately available.
“These agreements align federal responsibilities with the agencies best positioned to support them, strengthening the effectiveness and impact of critical services,” Linda McMahon, the education secretary, said in a statement.
There has been little movement in Congress to formally dismantle or eliminate the Education Department. In the meantime, the Trump administration has pushed ahead by effectively subcontracting the department’s duties to other agencies.
Relying on so-called “interagency agreements,” which have generally been used to purchase supplies or lease space between federal agencies, the Trump administration has transferred tens of billions in government programs out of the Education Department.
Last year, the Education Department transferred oversight of $28 billion in funding for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, $3 billion in grants for the Office of Postsecondary Education and $2.6 billion in programs and day-to-day administration of career, technical and adult education programs to the Labor Department. The Interior Department has taken over management of the Office of Indian Education, and the State Department and health department have also been tasked with oversight of some educational programs.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, has previously said that his agency was “fully prepared” to take over the office for students with disabilities.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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