Recently-disclosed court documents show that the U.S. Department of Education entered into agreements earlier this year to begin transferring oversight of key programs, including career education grants and student loan collections, to the Departments of Labor and Treasury. Those actions have since been paused following a federal court order in May. [Education Week, subscription model]
Why it matters: The agreements offer a clearer view into how federal agencies were preparing to implement recent policy directives focused on reorganizing ED’s responsibilities. While Secretary McMahon has consistently said that only Congress can formally close ED, the agreements reflect early efforts to explore alternative structures for delivering core services. [POLITICO Pro, subscription model]
Driving the News
- An agreement signed in May would shift $2.67 billion in career and technical education grants from the Education Department to the Department of Labor, including oversight of Perkins Act funds and adult education programs.
- A separate deal finalized in April sent nine staffers to the Treasury Department to help restart collections on defaulted student loans. The detailees included staff from the Federal Student Aid office and the department’s default collections unit.
- The Treasury arrangement reportedly followed the end of a contract with a loan collections vendor, at a time when the department was managing reduced staffing after layoffs.
What’s next: Both agreements were paused under a May 22 injunction from a federal judge, who temporarily blocked further layoffs at the department. The administration has twice appealed the ruling, with its latest request now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
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