WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration announced the transfer of special education oversight from the Department of Education to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Education Secretary Linda McMahon signed four interagency agreements to facilitate the transfer of special education services to other federal agencies.

Under these agreements, the Department of Justice (DOJ) will assume responsibility for civil rights enforcement, student privacy protection, and training services. These responsibilities were previously managed by the department. McMahon stated: "The Trump Administration has been clear: as we scale back federal micromanagement when it hinders success, we are equally committed to bolstering the efficacy of federal oversight where it is essential." She added: "Through our partnership with HHS, we will align federal services with the goal of strengthening academic outcomes and supporting individuals with disabilities so that they can achieve greater independence, key life skills, and meaningful employment." Regarding the DOJ, McMahon said: "The Department of Education will also team up with DOJ to ensure stronger, more coordinated civil rights enforcement and robust protections for student privacy."

Project 2025 had previously proposed eliminating the Department of Education and transferring disability education grant administration to HHS. McMahon has signed 14 interagency agreements since taking office. Last March, she proposed reducing the department's workforce by approximately 1,400 positions, but federal courts issued an injunction blocking these staff reductions.

Plaintiffs filed lawsuits arguing that the Education Secretary cannot unilaterally transfer department functions without congressional approval. The Supreme Court ruled in August that the Education Department may continue transferring functions to other agencies while litigation proceeds in lower courts. McMahon stated: "When we have completed some of these transfers that are working well, we will be looking to Congress to codify them and make them permanent."

Frederick Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, said: "The next Democratic president would then have to cancel them, and then they would have to spend a lot of time and energy unwinding them and moving people back." Congress authorized a budget of approximately $79 billion for the department earlier this year. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has previously characterized autism as an epidemic.