A Senate committee approved legislation that would prevent the Department of Education from transferring special education and several other congressionally assigned offices to different federal agencies.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A Senate committee voted Thursday to limit a central part of the Trump administration’s effort to break up the Department of Education, advancing bipartisan legislation that would keep several major education offices inside the agency.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved S. 5046 by a 13-9 vote, according to Politico. The bill would bar the department from transferring its special education office and several other divisions to agencies elsewhere in the federal government.
Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia in supporting the measure, which responds to a series of interagency agreements initiated under Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
The Department of Education has entered into at least a dozen such agreements to shift selected responsibilities to other departments while the administration seeks congressional support for eliminating the agency altogether. Because Congress created the department 45 years ago during the administration of President Jimmy Carter, formally abolishing it would also require an act of Congress.
McMahon has described the transfers as a “proof of concept” intended to demonstrate that federal education responsibilities can be managed successfully by other agencies. She has said successful implementation could make lawmakers more receptive to President Donald Trump’s campaign pledge to close the department.
Department spokeswoman Savannah Newhouse said lawmakers were intervening before the administration had an opportunity to demonstrate whether the restructuring could work.
“Secretary McMahon promised Congress a proof of concept that is currently underway and delivering results across our partner agencies, and it is entirely premature to sabotage this effort before it has the chance to eliminate bureaucratic barriers and fully deliver the results that our students, families, and educators deserve,” Newhouse said.
McMahon has also publicly promoted the restructuring effort through her official account on X.
The Senate bill would specifically prohibit transfers involving the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Office of Postsecondary Education and the Office of Indian Education.
Collins described the legislation as “straightforward,” saying it would leave administration of the affected programs “where Congress specifically put them and where they belong.”
Murkowski argued that Congress assigned those responsibilities to the Education Department for deliberate reasons and warned against allowing the administration’s restructuring effort to divert attention from the students served by the programs.
“We cannot lose sight of the fact that at the end of the day, we’re talking about children, whether it’s children with special needs, whether it’s children in our elementary schools, whether it’s our Native students — making sure that we don’t lose that focus,” Murkowski said.
The committee action follows Congress’ inclusion of nonbinding language in its most recent spending measure stating that the Education Department lacks authority to transfer its functions to other federal agencies.
S. 5046 would not block every interagency agreement established by the department. Democrats reportedly want to halt the remaining transfers as well, but the current legislation is limited to the offices specifically named in the bill.
Its prospects for final passage remain uncertain. Kaine said he hopes the proposal will be incorporated into future appropriations negotiations, which could give supporters another opportunity to restrict the department’s reorganization plans through federal spending legislation.
The Senate measure also conflicts with legislation moving through the House. The House Education and Workforce Committee voted last month to permanently relocate certain Department of Education responsibilities to other agencies, placing the two chambers on opposing paths over the future structure of federal education policy.
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