Orderly Liquidation of the Department of Education Act

This bill would shut down the U.S. Department of Education on October 1, 2026, and move many of its programs to other federal agencies. A new Office of Education would be created inside the Department of Health and Human Services, led by a Director with assistants for K–12 and higher education. The stated goal is to return more control over education to states and local communities. The President must create and carry out a plan within 180 days to wind things down and transfer duties, and the Department must wrap up remaining business before the shutdown date.

Several moves follow from this plan. The Institute of Education Sciences would shift to HHS, and school civil rights enforcement would move to the Department of Justice. Programs and funding duties would be reassigned to agencies such as the Treasury, Labor, Interior, Defense, and the National Science Foundation . Recipients can choose to refuse federal funds that are transferred. Transfers do not automatically move current Education Department employees to those agencies. New Federal Direct PLUS Loans would stop for any term starting on or after October 1, 2026, with a limited allowance for some borrowers to continue until they finish their program or through September 30, 2030, whichever comes first . Starting October 1, 2036, certain K–12 federal grants, including Title I grants and Title I, Part D programs, could no longer be funded. During the changeover, existing grants, loans, contracts, and cases keep going under current terms until they are changed by law or an authorized official.

• Who is affected: Borrowers who use Federal Direct PLUS Loans; states, school districts, colleges, and other recipients of federal education funds; Education Department employees .
• What changes: The Education Department ends; a new Office of Education is set up at HHS; school civil rights work moves to DOJ; student aid and the Direct Loan Program shift to the Treasury; recipients may decline funds .
• When: Plan due within 180 days of enactment; Department ends October 1, 2026; PLUS Loans end for new terms starting October 1, 2026 (with limited continuation until September 30, 2030); some K–12 grants end October 1, 2036 .