Ranking Member Scott Statement on ED Offloading Core Responsibilities
WASHINGTON – Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), House Committee on Education and Workforce, issued the following statement after the Department of Education (ED) announced it signed six additional interagency agreements.
“The Trump Administration cannot close a federal agency without an act of Congress. Nevertheless, the Trump Administration is intent on breaking the law and dismantling the Department of Education (ED). Today’s announcement is part and parcel of the Trump Administration’s larger agenda to reduce federal enforcement of civil rights laws and eliminate support for low-income communities.
“A core function of ED is to protect and defend students’ civil rights. The federal government must retain its central role in enforcing students’ civil rights, because historically, when states had no federal oversight, we saw segregation of public schools, a refusal to educate students with disabilities, and a lack of resources for low-income communities.
“Moreover, it is explicitly stated in the Department of Education Organization Act that the purpose of creating ED was because a ‘dispersion of education programs across a large number of federal agencies ha[d] led to fragmented, duplicative, and often inconsistent federal policies relating to education.’ The mass transfer of these programs is not only extremely inefficient and wasteful, but it will result in inconsistent enforcement of federal education policy.
“I am certain today’s announcement will be challenged in Court. Instead of protecting the civil rights of students of color, students with disabilities, English as a Second Language (ESL) students, and low-income students, and closing achievement gaps, the Secretary of Education has spent her tenure dismantling ED. But most of all, I am upset about the irreparable harm this will cause students and families who will be caught up in this Administration’s war on education.
“Congress cannot let this stand. Congressional Republicans must work with Democrats to stop this assault.”
Background: Today, notwithstanding statutes that require these offices be established in ED, the Trump Administration announced that the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (20 U.S.C. § 3414) and the Office of Postsecondary Education (20 U.S.C. § 3415) will both move to the Department of Labor. The Office of Indian Education (20 U.S.C. § 3423c) will move to the Department of the Interior. The CCAMPIS Program (20 U.S.C. § 1070e) and the National Commission on Foreign Medical Education and Accreditation (NCFMEA) (20 U.S.C. § 1002) will move to the Department of Health and Human Services. And International and Foreign Language Education (20 U.S.C. § 1121) will move to the Department of State. To see how this action is part of President Trump’s Project 2025 Agenda to benefit billionaires at the expense of workers, students, and families, click here (see page 352).
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