Sponsors
The bill centralizes and redistributes U.S. education functions—granting states more control and consolidating some functions into HHS/other agencies—trading potential administrative savings and local autonomy against large risks of disrupted services, lost federal funding and protections, student affordability hits, and substantial short-term costs and uncertainty.
Federal agencies and recipients keep legal continuity after transfers so pending benefit applications, permits, contracts, rules, and lawsuits continue to be processed without interruption.
State and local governments and school systems regain primary control over education decisions and can refuse federal funds with onerous conditions, reducing federal regulatory requirements and administrative burdens at the local level.
Consolidating the Institute of Education Sciences and some education functions into HHS (and creating an HHS Office of Education) can better align education research and programs with public-health expertise and preserve many IES positions.
Terminating the Department of Education and reallocating many education functions to other agencies risks large-scale disruption to national education policy, coordination, and support for K–12 and higher education.
Eliminating Title I Part A and Part D grants after Oct 1, 2036 will directly reduce resources for low-income students and at-risk youth, likely worsening educational disparities unless states backfill funding.
Moving civil-rights enforcement in education from OCR to DOJ risks deprioritizing education-sector expertise and could weaken protections for students with disabilities and racial/ethnic minorities during or after the transition.
Based on analysis of 14 sections of legislative text.
Terminates the Department of Education (Oct 1, 2026), transfers many functions to HHS and DOJ, sunsets certain federal K–12 programs by 2036, and ends new Direct PLUS loans after Oct 1, 2026.
Introduced March 27, 2025 by Nathaniel Moran · Last progress March 27, 2025
Terminates the Department of Education and moves many of its programs and authorities into a new Office of Education at HHS and into the Department of Justice for civil‑rights work, with an orderly liquidation plan required from the President within 180 days. It sunsets certain K–12 grant programs by 2036, ends new Federal Direct PLUS Loans for enrollment periods starting on or after October 1, 2026 (with a limited transition for borrowers already receiving PLUS loans), and preserves existing orders, contracts, and legal proceedings during the transfers.