The U.S. Department of Education is losing key responsibilities under a sweeping plan by the Donald Trump administration to transfer several programs to other federal agencies.
Under the initiative, the department’s offices overseeing elementary, secondary and post-secondary education will be relocated to the U.S. Department of Labor. Additionally, the Office of Indian Education is set to move to the U.S. Department of the Interior; foreign-language programs will shift to the U.S. Department of State; and certain childcare and medical-education initiatives will be transferred to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon confirmed the effort is part of the goal to reduce the department’s federal role and return control of schooling to states and local communities. Officials emphasized that federal aid will continue flowing, but major oversight and administrative missions will diminish.
The changes mark the most significant overhaul of the federal education bureaucracy in decades, and critics warn they could disrupt programs for vulnerable students and draw legal challenges.