Sponsors (2)
Abolishes the Department of Education, shifts its programs to HHS/Interior/Treasury, and creates Treasury‑administered State block grants funded at FY2019 levels.
Official title: To abolish the Department of Education, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 13, 2025 by Clay Higgins · Last progress May 13, 2025
The bill shifts substantial federal education authority, funding, and enforcement to states and other agencies to increase local control and reduce federal overhead, but does so on tight timelines and fixed funding baselines that risk significant disruptions to student aid, civil-rights enforcement, and program continuity nationwide.
State and local school systems gain predictable, formula-based block grant funding and broader control over K–12 and postsecondary spending, allowing states to direct funds to local priorities (including early childhood, elementary, secondary, and higher education).
States and institutions keep at least half of federal education funds available for targeted programs and research (block grants capped at 50%), and federal administrative spending is limited (20%), which preserves program dollars for direct services rather than agency overhead.
People with disabilities and students receive clearer, reinforced civil-rights protections for programs funded under the bill (stronger Section 504 and Title IX enforcement) with a single federal enforcement point (DOJ Civil Rights Division) for grant-funded programs.
Students nationwide risk losing access to federal K–12 and higher-education programs, grants, and services if programs are not successfully transferred, reducing funding and supports for schools, students, and borrowers.
Short, abrupt transition deadlines (180–270 days) for abolishing and moving large programs create a high risk of administrative chaos, temporary service gaps, and significant transition costs for states, schools, and beneficiaries.
Reducing federal oversight and moving key education oversight roles (e.g., IDEA coordination) across agencies could weaken enforcement of civil rights and special-education protections and narrow federal capacity to coordinate national education policy, likely increasing interstate disparities.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Abolishes the U.S. Department of Education and redistributes most of its programs to other federal agencies, creates two large State block‑grant programs administered by the Treasury for K–12 and postsecondary education, and shifts civil rights enforcement for the moved programs to DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. The bill requires transfers of major student aid programs and other Education Department functions, sets grant allocation formulas based on student counts, imposes reporting and audit requirements on States, and authorizes funding equal to the Department of Education’s FY2019 appropriation with limits on how the funds may be used.