The U.S. Education Department is handing off some of its biggest grant programs to other federal agencies as the Trump administration accelerates its plan to shut down the department. This move represents a major step forward for the administration\u2019s dismantling of the department, which has mainly involved cutting jobs since President Donald Trump called for its elimination with an executive action in March.<\/p>\n
The Education Department has been a crucial part of the federal government’s efforts to support education, overseeing billions of dollars in grant programs for K-12 schools, higher education, and other initiatives. However, the Trump administration has argued that the department has become a bloated bureaucracy and that its functions could be better managed by other agencies.<\/p>\n
Six new agreements signed by the Education Department will effectively move billions of dollars in grant programs to other agencies. Most notable is one that will put the Department of Labor over some of the largest federal funding streams for K-12 schools, including Title I money for schools serving low-income communities.
\nDepartment officials said the programs will continue to be funded at levels set by Congress. They did not say whether the changes would bring further job cuts at the department, which has been thinned by waves of mass layoffs and voluntary retirement offers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Trump Administration is taking bold action to break up the federal education bureaucracy and return education to the states,\u201d Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. \u201cCutting through layers of red tape in Washington is one essential piece of our final mission.\u201d The action leaves in place the Education Department\u2019s $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio and its funding for students with disabilities, though McMahon has suggested both would be better managed by other federal departments.<\/p>\n
Under the new plan, Labor will oversee almost all grant programs that are now managed by the Education Department\u2019s offices for K-12 and higher education. Along with the $18 billion Title I program, that includes smaller funding pools for teacher training, English instruction, and TRIO, a program that helps steer low-income students to college degrees. It will effectively outsource the department\u2019s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and Office of Postsecondary Education, two of the agency\u2019s largest units.<\/p>\n
Another deal will put Health and Human Services in charge of a grant program for parents who are attending college, along with management of foreign medical school accreditation. The State Department will take on foreign language programs. Interior will oversee programs for Native American education. States and schools should not expect any disruptions in their funding, the department said, but their federal money will now come from the Department of Labor.<\/p>\n
Opponents have urged against such a shake-up, saying it could disrupt programs that support some of the nation\u2019s most vulnerable student populations. Some argue that other agencies don\u2019t have the expertise that schools and families rely on at the Education Department. Some also question the plan\u2019s legality, noting that legislation requires the Education Department to oversee some of its operations in-house.<\/p>\n
The Education Department’s decision to offload some of its work to other agencies marks a significant step towards the Trump administration’s goal of shutting down the department. While the move has been met with opposition, the administration argues that it will make programs more efficient and reduce bureaucracy. As the plan moves forward, it remains to be seen how it will impact the nation’s education system and the students who rely on these programs.<\/p>\n
Q: What is the purpose of the Education Department’s restructuring?
\nA: The purpose is to reduce bureaucracy and make programs more efficient by offloading some of the department’s work to other federal agencies.
\nQ: Which agencies will take over the Education Department’s grant programs?
\nA: The Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, the State Department, and Interior will take over various grant programs.
\nQ: Will the changes affect funding for schools and students?
\nA: Department officials say the programs will continue to be funded at levels set by Congress, and states and schools should not expect any disruptions in their funding.
\nQ: What is the timeline for the implementation of the plan?
\nA: The plan is already underway, with six new agreements signed by the Education Department, and officials say they will continue to work towards implementing the changes in the coming months.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Introduction to the Education Department’s Restructuring The U.S. Education Department is handing off some of its biggest grant programs to other federal agencies as the Trump administration accelerates its plan to shut down the department. This move represents a major step forward for the administration\u2019s dismantling of the department, which has mainly involved cutting jobs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":22621,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-22619","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-education"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/media.nbcmiami.com\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2237968161.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&fit=4000,2666&w=1920&resize=1920,1279&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22619"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22619"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22622,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22619\/revisions\/22622"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}