All4Ed Flash: Who’s in Charge of Education? The Fight Over Interagency Agreements
⚡️ Welcome back to the All4Ed Flash!
The U.S. Department of Education recently announced new interagency agreements with the Departments of State and Health and Human Services. While framed as an effort to streamline federal education work, these agreements continue a pattern of shifting core education responsibilities without congressional authorization. In this episode of All4Ed Flash, we break down what these agreements mean, why leaders in Congress are pushing back, and how changes to federal oversight can affect programs serving millions of students and adult learners—especially those connected to career pathways and family engagement.
This episode highlights statements from Amy Loyd, CEO of All4Ed, and Patty Murray responding to the latest developments and explaining why maintaining clear federal education authority matters for students, educators, and communities nationwide.
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Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Education announced two additional interagency agreements — one with the Department of State and another with the Department of Health and Human Services. While the administration claims these agreements will streamline federal education activities, they continue a pattern of shifting core education responsibilities to other agencies without congressional authorization.
Congress has previously taken bipartisan action to reaffirm its authority over the Department of Education and push back on the administration’s use of unauthorized IAAs. Lawmakers made clear that the Department does not have the authority to transfer its core responsibilities to other agencies.
In response to the latest IAAs, All4Ed CEO Dr. Amy Loyd issued a statement underscoring the harm these agreements have already caused — particularly the unauthorized transfer of the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, which disrupted programs serving millions of students and adult learners.
Dr. Loyd stated: “Once again, the leadership of the U.S. Department of Education is using interagency agreements to weaken the federal role in education and bypass congressional authority. Claims that these agreements will ‘streamline’ services or reduce administrative burdens do not change the reality that this approach sidesteps congressional intent and erodes the federal commitment to education.”
U.S. Senator Patty Murray also responded to the newest IAAs, stating: “We have already seen funding our kids count on get held up because of Secretary McMahon’s destructive efforts to spin off the Department of Education’s key responsibilities through these arrangements, and while I will continue doing all I can to push back, the unfortunate reality is Republicans refused to work with us to take new steps to prevent these agreements from hurting our students in the first place. I’m not backing off from this fight—I’m going to keep speaking up and working to make sure our kids can get the world-class education they deserve.”
Fragmenting federal education responsibilities across multiple agencies creates confusion for states and grantees, increases administrative burden, and undermines programs that support family engagement, school improvement, and career pathways. As Dr. Loyd notes, students ultimately pay the price.
All4Ed will continue advocating for policies that put students first and uphold the rule of law. For more updates and analysis, visit all4ed.org and follow us across our social channels.
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