{"id":2615064,"date":"2026-06-17T09:03:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T13:03:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/education-department-takes-further-steps-to-dismantle-itself\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T09:05:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T13:05:28","slug":"education-department-takes-further-steps-to-dismantle-itself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/education-department-takes-further-steps-to-dismantle-itself\/","title":{"rendered":"Education Department Takes Further Steps To Dismantle Itself"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Feducation-department-takes-further-steps-to-dismantle-itself%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2615064&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Department of Education is shifting responsibilities to other agencies, signaling plans to ultimately dismantle the department. It has signed agreements with the Justice Department and Health and Human Services (HHS) to transfer certain duties. Notably,an interagency agreement allows the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to refer complaints to the Justice Department for examination,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/childrens-national-hospital-ends-its-gender-affirming-and-transition-programs-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Children\u2019s National Hospital ends its gender-affirming and transition ... - Washington Examiner\">emphasizing ongoing enforcement<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-justice-department-pick-helped-kill-pipeline-favored-by-key-senator\/\" title=\"Biden ... Pick Helped Kill Pipeline Favored by Key Senator\">federal civil rights laws<\/a>. Despite these changes, individual rights to file discrimination complaints remain unaffected, and OCR will continue it&#8217;s functions. Additionally, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) is being moved to HHS, ensuring that protections for individuals with disabilities and related programs continue without loss of rights. These efforts align with Education Secretary Linda McMahon\u2019s vision to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-education-bureaucrats-are-still-coming-for-americas-children\/\" title=\"The ... Bureaucrats Are Still Coming For America\u2019s Children\">reduce federal control<\/a> and return education oversight to the states,as part of her broader campaign to dismantle the department following an executive order from President Trump.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span>Breccan F. Thies \/ The Federalist       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/17\/education-department-takes-further-steps-to-dismantle-itself\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Education Department Takes Further Steps To Dismantle Itself&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/17\/education-department-takes-further-steps-to-dismantle-itself\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Education Department Takes Further Steps To Dismantle Itself&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/17\/education-department-takes-further-steps-to-dismantle-itself\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/17\/education-department-takes-further-steps-to-dismantle-itself\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Education Department Takes Further Steps To Dismantle Itself&#038;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/17\/education-department-takes-further-steps-to-dismantle-itself\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>The Department of Education announced Tuesday that it has entered agreements with the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to transfer more of its responsibilities to other agencies, prepping the Education Department to one day be shut down for good.<\/p>\n<p>On a press call, senior department officials confirmed that the Education Department had signed an interagency agreement (IAA) with the Justice Department allowing Education\u2019s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to refer complaints to the Justice Department\u2019s Civil Rights Division (CRT) to \u201cevaluate, investigate, and resolve.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1118277783\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe secretary has been very clear about the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/05\/shutting-down-the-department-of-education-linda-mcmahon-lays-out-the-final-mission\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">final mission<\/a> of the U.S. Department of Education, and she has been clear that our primary goal is to return education to the states,\u201d one official said on the call. \u201cWhat the secretary has also indicated is that there are areas where federal enforcement must continue. There are areas where the federal government has an essential role, and that includes enforcement of federal civil rights laws.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Statutory requirements of the Department of Justice will not change under the IAA, and OCR will still make final decisions about whether to pursue administration actions or refer cases to the Justice Department for judicial enforcement. OCR will continue to administer civil rights data collection, \u201cfacilitate mediation and negotiate settlements,\u201d and develop policy guidance and provide technical assistance to states, localities, and schools.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis partnership will not impact students, parents, or families. Any individual who believes that discrimination has occurred in an education program or activity funded by the department may still file complaints with OCR,\u201d an official stated. \u201cOCR investigations will not be impacted by this partnership, and OCR enforcement staff remain available to answer questions regarding the status of complaints and remain the points of contact for complainants.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Education Department is also moving its Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), to HHS.<\/p>\n<p>OSERS administers the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), provides billions in formula grants to states for K-12 special education, and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >oversees state vocational rehabilitation programs<\/a> that help Americans with disabilities secure and retain competitive employment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFederal rights and protections provided under the programs administered by OSERS, including the IDEA and the Rehabilitation Act, are critical to individuals with disabilities and their families,\u201d an official stated. \u201cYet, families often describe to the secretary and her team here at the department, long, bureaucratic, costly efforts and additional barriers to securing the services their children need and to which they are entitled to under federal law.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No students with special needs will lose any rights in the transfer to HHS, and states will continue to receive federal funds for the programs they administer, with an additional $144 million expected for fiscal year 2026.<\/p>\n<p>The two moves are the latest development in Education Secretary Linda McMahon\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/05\/shutting-down-the-department-of-education-linda-mcmahon-lays-out-the-final-mission\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">final mission<\/a>\u201d to dismantle the Department of Education. Following an <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/20\/trump-signs-order-to-dismantle-education-department-as-quickly-as-possible\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">executive order<\/a> from President Donald Trump, McMahon has looked for ways to give states autonomy over certain responsibilities unnecessarily overseen by the federal government, while looking for other cabinet agencies that more appropriately house federal responsibilities once the department is gone.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Breccan F. Thies is the White House correspondent for The Federalist. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. As an investigative journalist, he previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Breccan F. Thies<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreccanFThies\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@BreccanFThies<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/breccan-thies\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/civil-rights\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">civil rights<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/department-of-education\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Department of Education<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/department-of-health-and-human-services\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Department of Health and Human Services<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Department of Justice<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/linda-mcmahon\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Linda McMahon<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Education Dept. transfers duties to DOJ and HHS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":2615065,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_4492.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[5152,37383,5045,60644,4326],"class_list":["post-2615064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-education","tag-education-reform","tag-government","tag-organizational-change","tag-policy"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_4492.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2615064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2615064"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2615064\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2615068,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2615064\/revisions\/2615068"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2615065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2615064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2615064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2615064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}