Senators vote to block Education Department split-up

The Senate’s education committee approved legislation that would block the Trump administration’s latest efforts to fragment the Education Department.

A 13-9 vote by the Senate HELP Committee advances S. 5046, a bipartisan bill from Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) that would prohibit the agency’s ability to transfer the following offices to different agencies:

• The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
• The Office of Postsecondary Education
• The Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
• The Office of Indian Education

“The bill is straightforward,” Collins told Politico. “It keeps the administration of the important landmark education programs at the Department of Education, where Congress specifically put them and where they belong.”

The move comes after weeks of advocacy from education organizations criticizing the agency’s decision to transfer special education staff to Health and Human Services while retaining the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

“That is significant new information because it raises a basic question: If IDEA is staying at ED and nothing is changing for states or families, why are the staff responsible for carrying out this work being moved to HHS?” Jacqueline Rodriguez, CEO of the National Council for Learning Disabilities, told Disability Scoop earlier this month.

The Education Department has attempted to shrink itself by signing more than a dozen agreements, shifting its responsibilities to other agencies, all without Congress having approved a full shutdown.

The Senate committee’s choice to block the agency’s breakup is “entirely premature,” said Savannah Newhouse, Education Department press secretary.

“Secretary McMahon promised Congress a proof of concept that is currently underway and delivering results across our partner agencies, and it is entirely premature to sabotage this effort before it has the chance to eliminate bureaucratic barriers and fully deliver the results that our students, families and educators deserve,” Newhouse said in a statement.

This story will be updated.

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