S. 5046: To prohibit the transfer of certain offices and functions of the Department of Education to other Federal agencies, and for other purposes.

This bill would limit the U.S. Department of Education’s ability to move certain work out of the department and into other federal agencies.

What it would restrict

The bill says the Secretary of Education could not, for certain Education Department offices:

• transfer their functions to another federal agency,
• hire another agency to do their work,
• share appropriations, staff, equipment, facilities, or services with another agency for those functions, or
• enter into similar arrangements to jointly carry out those responsibilities.

The covered offices are:

• the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,
• the Office of Postsecondary Education,
• the Office of Indian Education, and
• the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The restrictions apply to work connected with administering programs, awarding grants, providing technical assistance, enforcing rules, collecting and sharing data, overseeing programs, and monitoring grant recipients.

What it would not allow

The bill also says the Secretary could not move a program or function from one of the covered offices to another office inside the Department of Education and then use another federal agency to carry out that work.

Exceptions

The bill would not affect agreements that were already in place on February 1, 2025. It would also allow those agreements to be renewed if the renewal keeps the same or very similar terms.

Relevant Companies

None found