The Trump administration announced on Tuesday plans to transfer two key functions of the U.S. Department of Education to other federal agencies, marking a significant advance in its ongoing effort to dismantle the department. Under the plan, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, which administers funding and compliance for students with disabilities under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), will move to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). At the same time, the department’s Office for Civil Rights, responsible for enforcing anti-discrimination laws in schools, will shift much of its work to the Justice Department.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon described the realignment as a move to improve efficiency and align federal responsibilities with agencies best positioned to support these programs. “These agreements strengthen the effectiveness and impact of critical services,” she said, emphasizing a commitment to maintaining federal oversight and enforcement of education laws. Department officials indicated that students, families, and educators would not see changes to services as a result of the restructuring, although details about implementation and staffing remain unclear.

The transfer of these offices closes one of the final gaps in the Trump administration’s broader strategy to “return education to the states” and effectively reduce the Education Department’s role without congressional approval. While the department was created by Congress and cannot be closed unilaterally, the administration has used interagency agreements to move large portions of the department’s programs to other agencies including the Labor, Treasury, Interior, and Health departments. Critics argue this approach fragments federal education oversight and complicates coordination among states and districts.

Disability rights advocates and civil rights groups voiced strong opposition to the moves, warning that dispersing these critical offices threatens accountability and weakens protections for vulnerable students. The Arc of the United States, a major disability advocacy organization, expressed concern that families will face confusion and barriers when seeking services and enforcement across multiple agencies. The National Women’s Law Center criticized the transfer of civil rights enforcement as a systematic dismantling of the department’s infrastructure protecting equal access to education.

Conversely, some supporters of the shift, including Kenneth L. Marcus, former head of the Education Department’s civil rights office, argued that consolidating enforcement functions within the Justice Department could leverage its litigation capabilities and lead to stronger, more consistent civil rights enforcement nationwide. The administration also pointed to concerns from lawmakers about growing backlogs in handling civil rights complaints within the Education Department as justification for the change.

The announcement immediately prompted legal challenges from a coalition of Democratic attorneys general who have been suing the administration over its attempts to dismantle the Education Department. Representatives of federal employees and education advocates described the move as an “unlawful dismantling” that would leave many students without needed services or protections.

While President Donald Trump campaigned on closing the Education Department and devolving authority to states, congressional support for such measures remains limited, and no legislative action has been taken to abolish the agency. Nevertheless, the administration’s use of interagency agreements has resulted in the transfer of tens of billions of dollars in federal education programs to other departments—effectively reshaping how education policy is administered at the federal level.