Legislative Column

The Administration’s Inter-Agency Agreements Don’t Pass the Test

By Manish Naik
Director of Legislative Services 

The week before Thanksgiving, the Trump Administration announced that it had signed six interagency agreements to transfer a number of program offices and staff from the U.S. Department of Education to other federal agencies. The biggest implication for public school districts is the transfer of the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education to the U.S. Department of Labor. A number of higher education institution-based grants would also go to the Labor Department under a separate interagency agreement, while other federal education programs would be scattered under additional agreements with the Departments of Interior, Health and Human Services (HHS), and State.

Although it continues to be publicly discussed by administration officials, there has been no announcement yet about moving special education programs to HHS or transferring civil rights enforcement to the Department of Justice. A spokesperson indicated they are still exploring these possibilities, but do not currently have signed agreements in place.

The immediate result of the interagency agreements is the transfer of dozens of education programs totaling more than $30 billion to four other agencies. The administration has acknowledged that it cannot formally close the U.S. Department of Education without congressional approval, so the Education Department continues to have the statutory responsibility over these programs, but not day-to-day operational control. The exact structure, staffing, governance framework, and most of the other changes that will need to occur continue to be in development.

It is likely, however, that the functioning of the federal government and its interaction with state education agencies will be majorly disrupted. In announcing these agreements, the administration claimed the successful transfer of the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education to the Department of Labor earlier in the year as a blueprint for the new moves. That transfer was not without problems, and the size and scope of career and technical programs are tiny compared to the larger K-12 programs, including Titles I, II, III, and IV. The administration has said that the Department of Labor is an appropriate landing place for K-12 education because they can emphasize the transition from school to the workforce. While some federal programs have a career focus to them, it is not the primary focus for most of the federal education programs or funds, and is certainly not the emphasis of K-12 programs focusing on homeless children and youth, migrant education, or afterschool enrichment.

The administration has spoken repeatedly since taking office about streamlining bureaucracy, reducing the federal footprint, and sending education back to the states. Yet the announcement of the interagency agreements does none of the above. Transferring operations and functions from the Education Department to multiple other agencies actually adds to the bureaucracy and red tape that state and local leaders must navigate to access essential federal support and protections for their students. The interagency agreements also undo the streamlining that brought many of the federal government’s different education programs under one roof.

The Council of the Great City Schools has been clear about its opposition to closing the U.S. Department of Education and knows there is no point in looking for logic in the interagency agreements when the publicly stated end goal is to diminish the federal role in education. There is no argument that actual teaching and learning takes place in the states at the local level, yet the Council continues to insist that there is an important federal role in education and a need for national leadership on the issue. This goes beyond merely administering funds, but also regulating the laws that Congress passes, enforcing protections for low-income students, English learners, and students with disabilities, spotlighting our nation’s biggest challenges, and providing oversight and accountability over the states.