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Under new interagency agreements that do not require congressional approval, the Department of Labor will assume responsibility for administering K-12 programs including Title I funding for disadvantaged students, charter schools, English language learners, and arts education. The Department of the Interior will take over programs serving Native American students, while the State Department will manage educational programs for international students. The Department of Health and Human Services will absorb additional education-related initiatives.
The announcement represents a significant step toward fulfilling Trump's campaign promise to eliminate the Department of Education, which he reiterated in March when signing an executive order to close the department to the "maximum extent" allowed by law.
"We're going to be returning education, very simply, back to the states where it belongs," Trump said at the time.
The Education Department said the restructuring would "streamline federal education activities on the legally required programs, reduce administrative burdens, and refocus programs and activities to better serve students and grantees." The Department noted that states would continue to receive all Title I formula funds, though the money will now flow through the Labor Department rather than Education.
The announcement triggered immediate backlash from education advocates, civil rights organizations, and Democratic lawmakers who characterized the move as both illegal and harmful to students.
"This move is neither streamlining nor reform—it's an abdication and abandonment of America's future," said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. "Rather than show leadership in helping all students seize their potential, it walks away from that responsibility."
Weingarten noted that while the AFT opposed creating a standalone Education Department in the 1970s, the union has supported a federal role that ensures all children can succeed.
"What's happening now isn't about slashing red tape," she continued. "Instead, spreading services across multiple departments will create more confusion, more mistakes and more barriers for people who are just trying to access the support they need. It's a deliberate diversion of funding streams that have helped generations of kids achieve their American dream."
Kristin McGuire, president and CEO of Young Invincibles, called the restructuring "yet another unlawful action by the administration, carried out at the expense of students nationwide."
"Dismantling the Department of Education is illegal; that's been clear since Trump's March attempt to do so via executive order," McGuire said. "But shuffling ED programs into other agencies as a workaround is just as deceitful. This jeopardizes the stability of programs that millions of students rely on."
Marcus W. Robinson, senior spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee, tied the announcement to Project 2025, the conservative policy blueprint that Trump has distanced himself from publicly.
"Donald Trump's latest effort to dismantle the Department of Education is part of a plan to outright eliminate the agency, just like was promised in the Project 2025 playbook," Robinson said. "By empowering his billionaire buddy Linda McMahon to chip away at civil rights enforcement, special education, and programs serving Native students, Trump is once again prioritizing tax breaks for billionaires over America's children."
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts argued the administration is overstepping its authority.
"Instead of working to lower costs for Americans, the Trump administration is hellbent on punishing underserved students," Warren said. "Only Congress has the authority to close the Education Department, and I will not let that happen on my watch."
Jeanne Allen, founder and CEO of the Center for Education Reform, welcomed the restructuring as long overdue.
"Today's move is exactly what this Administration has said it would do: disrupt a federal system that hasn't worked for students in decades," Allen said. "Shifting power closer to communities is the right direction."
Allen acknowledged the transition would face challenges but argued the existing system has failed students. She cited recent data showing students with proficiency rates below 30% entering college as evidence that "the current model is broken."
"Districts have increasingly become real estate, HR, and compliance operations rather than institutions centered on student learning," she said.
Republican Representative Tim Walberg of Michigan praised the administration for "making good on its promise to fix the nation's broken system by right-sizing the Department of Education to improve student outcomes."
Created by Congress in 1979, the Department of Education's primary responsibilities include administering federal student loans, tracking student achievement, enforcing civil rights in schools, and providing funding to districts serving high percentages of disadvantaged students and students with disabilities.
The restructuring affects programs serving some of the nation's most vulnerable student populations, including homeless children, English language learners, and Native American students.
Under the new State Department partnership, educational programs for international students will be transferred to an agency that has already imposed new restrictions on foreign students, including social media vetting for attitudes deemed hostile to U.S. culture. Those policies may have contributed to a 17% decline in newly enrolled international students at U.S. colleges and universities this academic year.
The announcement comes weeks after Education Secretary Linda McMahon said a recent government shutdown demonstrated the department was unnecessary. In March, McMahon announced plans to terminate more than 1,300 employees as part of what she called the department's "final mission."
Weingarten urged Congress to reassert its authority over education policy during upcoming federal funding debates and pledged the AFT would continue fighting the restructuring, including through legal challenges.
"We are now watching the federal government shirk its responsibility to all kids," she said. "That is unacceptable."
