THE DISMANTLING OF A DEPARTMENT

As part of Trump’s pledge to banish the Education agency, the offices of special ed and civil rights are handed off

- By ALIA WONG, MORIAH BALINGIT AND SHARON LURYE

JOSE LUIS MAGANA Associated Press IT WOULD take an act of Congress to eliminate the Department of Education, but the administration keeps chipping away at it.

The Education Department is handing off two of its most important functions, giving oversight of special education and civil rights to other agencies. With the latest moves, the department will have shed the vast majority of its duties.

Dissolving the department entirely requires an act of Congress. Still, the latest developments bring the administration significantly closer to fulfilling President Trump’s pledge to shut down the Education Department, which he says will give education “back to the states.”

The administration is framing the moves as a partnership between federal agencies intended to reduce bureaucracy. The Justice Department will handle civil rights enforcement in schools, and the Department of Health and Human Services will oversee special education. The Justice Department will also manage work involving student privacy protections.

Dealing with civil rights and special education

When parents believe their child is facing discrimination at school, and when local officials fail to fix it, families often turn to the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights as a last resort. The office investigates complaints filed by students, parents and advocacy groups alleging civil rights violations at schools, colleges and universities that receive federal money. It also occasionally will initiate an investigation on its own.

Based on an investigator's findings, the department may force the school to fix the problem. Schools that refuse risk losing federal money.