The U.S. Department of Education appears poised to move much of its portfolio to other federal agencies, according to several people invited to a flurry of meetings with department and White House officials and told about some of the changes Tuesday.
As many as seven key agency offices鈥攊ncluding divisions that oversee services and funding for students with disabilities, school safety programs, grants for the education of Native American students, and some of the agency鈥檚 core funding streams for elementary and secondary education鈥攃ould be dispersed to other departments, advocates for potentially affected programs said.
A spokesperson for the agency didn鈥檛 immediately respond to a request for comment.
The moves would mark the most significant step the department has taken yet to follow through on President Donald Trump鈥檚 March executive order, which directed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to 鈥渇acilitate鈥� the closure of the 45-year-old agency. News of the transfers was first reported Tuesday morning by .
In recent weeks, McMahon has that furloughing most of the department during the government shutdown had hardly any effect on education, and that her department is unnecessary鈥攅ven as hundreds of schools missed federal payments, and the agency quietly brought back employees to get money out of the door on time.
McMahon also spoke of transferring department functions to other federal agencies during her February confirmation hearing, such as moving special education services to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The department , including a video of President Ronald Reagan, who sought to axe the newly created agency during his presidency.
鈥淭he clock is ticking,鈥� the department said.
The clock is ticking...
— U.S. Department of Education (@usedgov)
The expected moves come as the department has already radically downsized, shedding nearly half its staff in layoffs and buyout deals earlier this year, and attempting to further slash staff during the federal shutdown in October. (Those layoffs have been reversed and won鈥檛 happen until late January at the earliest.)
The U.S. Supreme Court in July gave the Trump administration a green light to continue dismantling the agency while a case challenging March layoffs of agency staff makes its way through the courts.
With the Supreme Court鈥檚 OK, the Education Department has also transferred the day-to-day management of career and technical, and adult education programs to the U.S. Department of Labor through an interagency agreement that says officials at the Education Department retain oversight over the programs.
This story will be updated.
