Sponsors (7)
The bill trades stronger Department of Education control and greater fiscal transparency for increased administrative burdens, higher costs for governments and grantees, reduced interagency coordination and flexibility, and potential privacy risks.
Students, educators, and state education agencies keep a single, consistent point of accountability because the Department of Education retains direct control over core K–12, special education, Indian education, and postsecondary program administration, reducing risk of mission drift and clarifying who is responsible for services.
Taxpayers and Congress gain better fiscal oversight because the bill requires line‑item cost breakdowns and timely reporting on interagency agreements, making it easier to identify and curb inefficient or costly arrangements.
State and local grantees, and schools, receive documented estimates of training and technology costs from interagency agreements, improving their ability to plan for transitions to new grant systems and budget for implementation.
Students and schools may get less integrated or slower services because the bill restricts use of other agencies' expertise and resources, reducing interagency coordination on overlapping programs (e.g., workforce training, research) and delaying implementation.
The Department of Education and taxpayers could face higher administrative costs and diverted staff time because the bill forces more in‑house capacity and requires frequent, detailed line‑item reporting, which may reduce resources available for direct program delivery.
State and local grantees and schools may incur additional compliance and reporting costs to meet the new disclosure requirements, complicating grant administration and potentially reducing funds for program services.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Stops ED from using interagency agreements to run functions of four named ED offices and requires public, quarterly line‑item cost reports for new agreements.
Official title: Prohibit the transfer of certain offices and functions of the Department of Education to other Federal agencies, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 21, 2026 by Timothy Michael Kaine · Last progress July 21, 2026
Stops the Department of Education from moving key program functions for special education, postsecondary education, Indian education, and elementary/secondary education out of those offices via interagency agreements with other federal agencies. It allows preexisting agreements in effect on February 1, 2025 to continue and renew only on substantially similar terms. Requires the Department to publish detailed, line‑item cost analyses for any interagency agreement entered into on or after February 1, 2025, deliver those reports quarterly to relevant congressional committees, post them publicly on the Department website, and withholds certain travel spending in FY2026–FY2027 until the required information is provided.