A key Senate committee plans to take up two bills next week that would prohibit the outsourcing of certain education programs from the U.S. Department of Education to other federal agencies.
Under bill S. 5046, sponsored by Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, the Education Department could not transfer offices that oversee special education, postsecondary education, elementary and secondary education, and Native American education programs.
The bipartisan measure would prevent federal agencies from using existing interagency agreements, contracting and transfer authorities to circumvent bans on interagency agreements.
A separate bill, — the Special Education Administration Protection Act — filed by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., would bar the Education Department from outsourcing special education programming to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Cassidy, a physician, is chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
The special education interagency agreement with HHS has been especially contentious, with opponents arguing that it would hurt services for children with disabilities.
Neither proposal specifically addresses the Education Department's equally controversial Office for Civil Rights interagency agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice. And interagency agreements that were in effect on Feb. 1, 2025, would be exempt from the proposed bans under both bills.
The Senate HELP committee is scheduled to consider both bills during a July 30 executive session meeting.
Since May 2025, the Education Department under the Trump administration has created 14 interagency agreements with other federal agencies to outsource certain day-to-day responsibilities in K-12 and higher education.
While interagency agreements have long been used for coordination and collaboration among federal offices, these partnerships shift core education functions to outside agencies and have caused controversy as critics predict they will sow confusion and reduce federal accountability. Further, the moves are widely seen as steps toward the Trump administration's goal to fully dismantle the Education Department.
At this week's Special Education Legislative Summit in Alexandria, Virginia, special education professionals and experts denounced the transfers.
Addressing the introduction of the Senate bills, Phyllis Wolfram, executive director of the Council of Administrators of Special Education, told K-12 Dive, "We know we still have lots of work to do, but we realize now that our education and advocacy is at work and we look forward to continuing to make a difference in the lives of students with disabilities." CASE cohosted the legislative summit with the Council for Exceptional Children.
Supporters, however, say the Education Department's partnerships with other agencies will streamline services to districts and schools and reduce federal red tape.
The House Education and Workforce Committee, meanwhile, on July 15 approved 10 Republican-led bills to codify several of the interagency agreements by permanently and fully shifting those education activities out of the Education Department. Special education and civil rights activities were not included in that legislative package.
It's unclear how far any of these House and Senate proposals will advance in this divided Congress, especially given that both chambers are in recess in August and October and midterm elections are coming up in November. The legislative session closes at the end of this year.
