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Adds a new paragraph (4) to section 455(a) terminating the authority to make Federal Direct PLUS Loans for any period of instruction beginning on or after October 1, 2026, with a limited grandfathering rule for certain loans first disbursed after the date of enactment and on or before October 1, 2026 (allowing continued eligibility until course completion or September 30, 2030, whichever is earlier).
Adds a new provision at the end of the Public Health Service Act (chapter at 42 U.S.C. 201 et seq.).
Shuts down the U.S. Department of Education and moves its work to other agencies on a set timeline. A new Office of Education is created inside the Department of Health and Human Services to take on many programs, while the Institute of Education Sciences moves to HHS and the Office for Civil Rights moves to the Department of Justice. It ends new Federal Direct PLUS Loans for school terms starting on or after October 1, 2026 (with limited grandfathering to 2030), and stops federal spending for Title I, Part A and Part D K–12 grants after October 1, 2036. The bill preserves legal continuity during the transition, lets recipients refuse transferred funds, and keeps existing authorities and proceedings in place as responsibilities shift.
Authorizes any recipient of a grant, an allotment, or other funds provided pursuant to a function transferred under section 5 to decline to receive that grant, allotment, or funds.
If any federal law, executive order, rule, regulation, delegation of authority, or departmental document refers to the head of a department or office from which a function is transferred by this Act, that reference is to be read as referring to the head of the department or office to which the function is transferred.
If any such law, order, rule, regulation, delegation, or document refers to the department or office from which a function is transferred, that reference is to be read as referring to the department or office to which the function is transferred.
Authorizes an official who receives a function transferred by this Act to exercise, for performing that function, all authorities under any other provision of law that were available to the official who performed the function immediately before the transfer’s effective date, unless another law provides otherwise.
Existing orders, determinations, rules, regulations, permits, grants, loans, contracts, agreements, certificates, licenses, and privileges that were issued or allowed to become effective by the President, the Secretary of Education, any other Government official, or a court in performing a function transferred by this Act remain in effect. This also covers those that are in effect on the effective date of the transfer or that become effective afterward under their own terms.
State governments and school districts gain more responsibility as federal K–12 oversight and funding streams are restructured, with Title I funding ending after 2036 potentially creating future budget gaps for low‑income schools. HHS becomes a central home for education programs and research (including IES), and DOJ takes over education civil rights enforcement from OCR, which may change enforcement processes but is intended to preserve ongoing cases. Colleges and universities and families are affected by the end of new PLUS loans for terms beginning in late 2026, with limited grandfathering, which could shift how families finance higher education. Federal Department of Education employees face reassignment or separation as most functions move without personnel, except for specified transfers (IES and OCR). Agencies receiving functions (HHS, NSF, Treasury, Defense, Labor) must stand up capacity to administer programs and maintain legal continuity. Grant and program recipients may refuse transferred funds during the transition.
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Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Introduced March 27, 2025 by Nathaniel Moran · Last progress March 27, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Introduced in House