Sneak Preview: Stakeholders Decry Transition of ED Grant Programs to Other Agencies
(The following was excerpted from a recent Thompson Grants Compliance Expert article.) Several education-related organizations blasted the Department of Education’s (ED) recent announcement that it was transitioning several of its grant programs to other federal agencies, continuing the Trump administration’s efforts to eventually dismantle ED.
“While we share the goal of improving efficiency and effectiveness in federal education programs, it is difficult to see how transferring cornerstone programs, such as Title I and the Rural Education Achievement Program, out of [ED] will result in streamlined operations, especially for the nation’s small, rural and low-capacity districts,” said David Schuler, executive director of AASA, The School Superintendents Association. “Many districts already operate with limited administrative capacity, and adapting to new oversight structures, reporting protocols and guidance could require resources that are better directed toward students.”
Schuler went on to say that his association is “also concerned that, absent a substantial infusion of new federal funding, state education agencies (SEAs) will not have the capacity to execute the expanded responsibilities this reorganization places on them. SEAs are already stretched thin as they work to provide technical assistance, program monitoring and support to districts. Under the proposed structure, those responsibilities expand across multiple new federal entities, increasing the risk that critical program activities — and the funding that drives them — could become fragmented or fall through the cracks.”
ED on Nov. 18 announced six new interagency agreements (IAAs) with four federal agencies that it said will “ensure efficient delivery of funded programs, activities and move closer to fulfilling President Trump’s promise to return education to the states” under Executive Order 14242, Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States and Communities. Although officially dismantling ED would require the approval of Congress, the agency is using these IAAs as a workaround to move current ED grant programs to other agencies. Even through the administration has severely cut ED staff and issued these IAAs, ED still has statutory responsibilities for administering many of these programs (see “ED Grantees Should Expect Delays In Agency Responses Post-Shutdown,” December 2025).
Under one IAA, ED and the Department of Labor (DOL) are establishing the Elementary and Secondary Education Partnership, under which DOL will take on a greater role in administering federal K-12 programs, aiming to better align them with workforce and college programs. With ED oversight, DOL will manage competitions, provide technical assistance and integrate ED’s programs with the suite of employment and training programs DOL already administers. This partnership affects several Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) programs and a list of other ED competitive grant programs.
These two agencies also created the Postsecondary Education Partnership, under which DOL will take on a greater role in administering most postsecondary education grant programs authorized under the Higher Education Act. This partnership will impact numerous Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) programs, including the TRIO programs. In a related matter, ED and DOL earlier this year signed an IAA to enable DOL to carry out specific responsibilities under the Perkins Career Tech Education and the Adult Education Family Literacy programs (see “ED/DOL Agreement Revamps Program Responsibilities,” September 2025).
(The full version of this story has now been made available to all for a limited time here.)
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