The Education Department Is Dismantling Itself One Office at a Time

McMahon Begins Transferring Staff Out

The U.S. Department of Education is being taken apart from the inside.

On November 18, 2025, Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced six interagency agreements to transfer programs and employees to the departments of Labor, Interior, State, and Health and Human Services.

She called it a soft launch. The goal is to prove the concept works, then ask Congress to make the closures permanent.

McMahon has called shutting down the 45-year-old agency her “final mission,” and she is moving fast.

K-12 Programs Move to Labor

Most of the department’s K-12 work is heading to the Department of Labor.

That includes the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and key higher education grant programs like TRIO and GEAR UP. The Office of Indian Education goes to Interior.

Child care programs for college parents move to Health and Human Services. International education shifts to the State Department.

So far, 13 employees have already transferred, with more agreements on the way. The Education Department’s budget still covers their salaries while both agencies co-manage them.

Half the Staff Already Gone

The workforce gutting started months before the transfers. In March 2025, the department laid off about 1,300 employees and accepted buyouts from another 600.

That cut the staff from 4,133 to roughly 2,183 in a matter of weeks. The Office for Civil Rights lost hundreds of investigators.

The Office of Special Education Programs was hit hard in a second wave of layoffs in October.

A continuing resolution halted further cuts through January 30, 2026, but McMahon acknowledged that layoffs could return after that deadline passes.

The Shutdown Made Her Case

McMahon used the longest government shutdown in U.S. history to argue her point. When federal funding lapsed for 43 days in fall 2025, schools stayed open.

Teachers got paid. Bus routes ran on time.

She wrote in an op-ed that the shutdown proved what conservatives have argued for 45 years: the Education Department is unnecessary. Critics say she missed the point.

Federal education funding is appropriated a year in advance, so schools were never going to close overnight. The real damage, they argue, will come later.

Carter Built It in 1979

The department exists because of a campaign promise.

Jimmy Carter pledged to create a cabinet-level education agency to win the endorsement of the National Education Association in 1976.

He signed the Department of Education Organization Act in October 1979, and it opened for business in May 1980. Ronald Reagan campaigned on abolishing it, calling it a bureaucratic boondoggle.

He never got the votes. Every Republican president since has talked about closing it, and none have succeeded.

What the Agency Actually Does

The Education Department oversees about $82 billion in annual spending. Most of that goes to federal student aid, including Pell Grants and student loans.

It also distributes Title I funding for low-income schools and IDEA funding for students with disabilities. The Office for Civil Rights investigates discrimination complaints.

The department does not decide what students learn. That is left to states and local school boards.

But it does enforce federal laws and redistribute tax dollars to poorer states that cannot fund schools through property taxes alone.

Student Loans Stay Put

Federal Student Aid, which manages loans and Pell Grants for more than 9 million students, is not part of the current transfers.

Neither is the accreditation process that determines whether colleges can receive federal funding. McMahon said the department is still exploring options for these programs.

Some proposals would move student loans to the Treasury Department or privatize them entirely.

Pell Grants have bipartisan support and are unlikely to disappear, but their administration could shift to another agency.

Special Ed Future Uncertain

Programs for students with disabilities are in limbo.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act provides about $14 billion annually for special education services.

President Trump announced in March 2025 that IDEA would move to Health and Human Services, but McMahon later walked that back, saying the administration would work with Congress.

The Office of Special Education Programs was gutted during the October layoffs.

Advocates worry that moving these programs to a health-focused agency could shift the approach from educational support to medical treatment.

Democrats Call It Illegal

More than 30 Senate Democrats signed a letter calling the transfers illegal.

They argue that appropriations law prohibits moving funds to another agency unless Congress explicitly authorizes it. Congress has not done so.

The senators also questioned whether the receiving agencies have the expertise to run education programs. The Department of Labor has never managed Title I funding or higher education grants.

Senator Elizabeth Warren said four agencies with no education experience are now suddenly in charge of more than 50 programs.

Staff Say Chaos Is Coming

The union representing Education Department employees is sounding alarms.

Rachel Gittleman, president of AFGE Local 252, said the staff have decades of experience with complicated grant programs. Moving them to agencies unfamiliar with education policy will cause confusion and delays.

Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers called the reorganization an attack on opportunity.

Internal documents obtained by reporters show the department itself acknowledged the transfers would be “much more difficult to migrate” than officials publicly claimed.

RIFs Could Return in 2026

The continuing resolution that ended the shutdown included a provision rescinding layoff notices issued in October. It also blocked further reductions in force through January 30, 2026.

But that protection expires in a month. McMahon told employees she understands the uncertainty and acknowledged the difficulty of decisions that affect people’s lives. She did not promise job security.

If Congress fails to pass another funding bill or extend protections, the department could resume layoffs in early 2026.

Congress Holds the Final Card

Fully abolishing the Education Department requires an act of Congress and 60 Senate votes to overcome a filibuster. Republicans do not have those votes.

So the administration is building its case one transfer at a time. If the proof-of-concept works, McMahon will ask lawmakers to codify the changes permanently.

The department’s existence has been contested since the day it opened. For 45 years, it survived every attempt to shut it down.

Whether it survives this one depends on what happens in the next session of Congress.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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