Home > Former Senior U.S. Education Department Officials, Employees’ Union, All4Ed Request Inspector General to Investigate Transfer of Programs to Labor Department

Former Senior U.S. Education Department Officials, Employees’ Union, All4Ed Request Inspector General to Investigate Transfer of Programs to Labor Department

Date: Monday, July 13, 2026

Media Contacts:
AFGE Local 252: Dorie Turner Nolt, dorie.turner@gmail.com, 404-861-1127
All4Ed: Enrique A. Chaurand, echaurand@all4ed.org, 816-825-1072

Washington, D.C. – A group of former leaders and senior staff in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Career and Technical Education (OCTAE) today joined with labor union American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 252 and national nonprofit All4Ed to formally request an Inspector General investigation into the damage caused by transferring the office to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The letter sent to Acting Inspector General Mark Priebe asks for a full review of the implementation and effects of the unlawful interagency agreement that moved OCTAE to Labor in the fall of 2025, including looking into:

  • Significant delays in $1.4 billion in state grant funding required under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act
  • Ongoing challenges for states and grantees that rely on OCTAE for guidance and support 
  • Delayed services for the 11 million secondary and postsecondary students and 1.3 million adult learners served by OCTAE-funded career programs
  • Full cost of implementing the agreement, both in terms of financial costs and staff resources

“This isn’t efficiency — it’s chaos. Students, families, and taxpayers are already paying the price: funding delays, confusion for both employees and the public, wasted taxpayer dollars, and no accountability or oversight,” said Rachel Gittleman, president of AFGE Local 252, the employees’ union for the Education Department. “Shuffling education programs to other agencies doesn’t make government work better — it breaks it.”

“As the former Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult Education, I saw firsthand what it takes to build systems that actually work for our nation’s students. OCTAE is effective because it is deeply rooted in our education system and tightly connected to the schools, colleges, and state agencies that serve millions of young people and adult learners,” said All4Ed CEO Amy Loyd, who served in the Biden Administration. “This agreement flies squarely in the face of bipartisan congressional direction that no authority exists for the Department to transfer its fundamental responsibilities to other federal agencies. Lawmakers have been explicit. This administration has simply chosen to ignore them.”    

“We need greater transparency about how this arrangement is impacting the effectiveness and integrity of federal programs that are relied on by millions of people to gain the skills they need to be successful and to be able to support themselves and their families,” said Brenda Dann-Messier, who led OCTAE in the Obama Administration. “States and adult education providers look to the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education for high-quality professional development and technical assistance to strengthen instruction in reading, math, English language acquisition, and digital literacy. Who, if anyone, is providing that expert leadership today?”

Other former OCTAE officials who signed the letter to the Inspector General include:

  • Luke Rhine, Deputy Assistant Secretary (2022-2024) and Acting Assistant Secretary, OCTAE (2024-2025)
  • Johan Uvin, Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Assistant Secretary, OCTAE (2010-2017)
  • Braden Goetz, Director of Policy, Research, and Evaluation Staff, OCTAE (2013-2024)
  • Mark Mitsui, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Colleges, OCTAE (2013-2016)
  • Lul Tesfai, Senior Policy Advisor and Director of Policy, OCTAE (2014-2016)

The OCTAE transfer is the first of 14 such interagency agreements that Education Secretary Linda McMahon has signed in the last year with six different federal agencies, effectively dismantling her own Department — despite Congress telling her she does not have the authority to do so, as well as multiple complaints and grievances filed by AFGE Local 252 and litigation brought by 21 attorneys general and other federal labor unions. 

So far, the Department’s Inspector General has issued two reports showing that due to McMahon’s actions, including the unlawful mass firing or forced retirement of nearly half of the Department’s staff in 2025, her agency can no longer fulfill its congressionally mandated duties, prevent waste, fraud and abuse, or follow federal law:

To date, the fullest interagency moves have been the Office of Career and Technical Education and the Office of Postsecondary Education, which are now spread across the Labor Department, Health and Human Services, the State Department and the Interior Department. The union has filed a complaint with the Occupational Health and Safety Administration about the long-documented, abhorrent working conditions at Labor’s Frances Perkins Building, which houses the bulk of transferred Education programs. The agency has also moved some Federal Student Aid staff to the Treasury Department. Education Department leadership has said they intend to continue these agreements indefinitely.

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About AFGE Local 252

The American Federation of Government Employees Local 252 is the labor union representing 2,000 dedicated public servants at the U.S. Department of Education employees—fired, retired, and still fighting. 

About All4Ed 

All4Ed is a national nonprofit advocacy organization committed to expanding equitable educational opportunities for students of color, from low-income families, and other marginalized groups. From the classroom to Congress, All4Ed advances educational transformation by championing policies and practices that ensure all students graduate prepared for college, career, and life.