The U.S. Department of Education is officially offloading several major responsibilities to other federal agencies, a move that officials say will dismantle long-standing bureaucracy and return more control to individual states.
In an announcement on Monday, the Department confirmed two new interagency agreements that shift the oversight of foreign gift reporting and school safety programs to the Department of State and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The shift is part of a broader White House strategy to decentralize the federal education system. By moving specific tasks to agencies that already specialize in those fields, the administration argues it can reduce red tape for local schools and save taxpayer money.
This follows a trend set last year when the Department of Education signed seven similar deals, including a major workforce development initiative with the Department of Labor.
Under the new arrangement, the State Department will take over the monitoring of foreign gifts and contracts at American universities, a requirement known as Section 117. Previously, the Education Department handled the reporting portal, but officials noted that the State Department is better equipped to spot national security risks or suspicious foreign influence in academia.
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“President Trump has been clear: Americans deserve transparency regarding foreign funding in American higher education. This partnership gives the State Department additional tools and resources to make good on that promise while safeguarding the integrity of our academic institutions. We look forward to deploying these new authorities to strengthen both research security and national security,” said Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers.
Meanwhile, HHS is stepping in to manage several high-profile school support programs. This includes Project SERV, which provides funding for schools recovering from violent incidents, as well as initiatives for community schools and family engagement.
“Nothing matters more than the safety of our children,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “HHS brings decades of frontline experience responding to crises and disasters, and we are putting that expertise directly into our schools. We will equip communities with the tools they need to protect students, support teachers, and keep families safe.”
Education Secretary Linda McMahon described the changes as a “practical step” toward efficiency. She argued that the experts at the State Department should be the ones looking at foreign funding data, while HHS experts should be the ones helping schools prepare for emergencies.
By consolidating these programs into agencies with existing expertise, the administration aims to create a more unified federal strategy that requires less direct interference from Washington D.S. in daily school operations.
Critics of the move often worry about the fragmentation of services, but the administration maintains that these partnerships will actually make it easier for states to manage their programs.
Instead of consulting multiple offices across different buildings in D.C., state leaders will now work with the specific agency that holds the most expertise in a given area, with the Department of Education providing final oversight.
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