Trump administration takes major step toward dismantling the Education Department

The U.S. Education Department is handing off some of its biggest grant programs to other federal agencies as the Trump administration accelerates its plan to shut down the department.

- by COLLIN BINKLEY AP Education Writer

The changes announced Tuesday represent a major step forward for the administration's dismantling of the department, which has mainly involved cutting jobs since President Donald Trump called for its elimination with an executive action in March.

Six new agreements signed by the Education Department will effectively move billions of dollars in grant programs to other agencies. Most notable is one that will put the Department of Labor over some of the largest federal funding streams for K-12 schools, including Title I money for schools serving low-income communities.

Opponents have urged against such a shakeup, saying it could disrupt programs that support some of the nation's most vulnerable student populations.

States rely on Education Department officials for expertise that other agencies might not have, said Angélica Infante-Green, Rhode Island's K-12 education chief.

"People might think it's just funding and giving them the money, but it's not," Infante-Green said in an interview. "It is about how to co-mingle some of the funds to educate a child. So if a child is in special education but is also a multilingual learner and they're in poverty, how do you use that to educate the child holistically?"

Student loans and civil rights enforcement stay at Education for now

Department officials said the programs will continue to be funded at levels set by Congress. They did not say whether the changes would lead to further job cuts at the department, which has already seen waves of mass layoffs and voluntary retirement offers thin its ranks.