Superintendent says U.S. Department of Education is ‘passing the baton’ to states; agency weighing EdFlex, grants and budget timing

Superintendent Hart told school board members the U.S. Department of Education is moving to shift operational responsibility for some federal programs to states, and staff are preparing schools and agency units for that change while exploring EdFlex and targeted grant opportunities.

Hart said the shift is not necessarily a change in law or in states’ responsibilities but an administrative change that “pass[es] the baton to the state.” She described meetings in Austin with the U.S. Department of Education and ongoing internal strategy sessions to interpret federal signals and prepare local education agencies (LEAs). “One takeaway that I really wanna share with the board is we have to remember that the the the aim of this is to pass the baton to the state,” Hart said.

The superintendent told members staff are considering EdFlex — a U.S. Department of Education option that can allow states flexibility in how federal funds are used — but cautioned it is not a blanket solution and contains exclusions. “It’s a funny space… EdFlex states have some fast tracks to it. However, there are exclusions in the EdFlex option,” Hart said. She added the federal plan to send money via grants rather than a block grant means the state will need to decide whether and how aggressively to pursue competitive federal grants.

Hart also reported that the state received a Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) grant this week and that recent federal allocations (GANs) for October were distributed to programs. “The SLDS grant did come through this week, and then our October money did hit… all the GANs came through for the most recent,” she said. She characterized those flows as incremental increases rather than large new pots of funding; exact dollar amounts were not specified in the meeting.

On budget timing, Hart said state budget clarity is likely to lag until legislators finish bill work and prepare for the holidays. “What people are saying, they are predicting that we will know about budgeting by Christmas because the legislators want to go home for their holiday break. We probably won't know much about budget before then,” she said. That uncertainty, she said, limits staff’s ability to finalize waiver requests or commit to program expansions before funding levels are confirmed.

Hart described work to stabilize the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (USDB), naming Darren Nielsen and Deputy Voorhees as staff involved in that effort. “I have been spending quite a bit of time on USDB making sure that they're on firm footing… Darren Nielsen is there and boots on the ground, and we work together. Him, Leah, deputy Voorhees and I, talk daily,” Hart said.

Board member Kelly asked for an update on two prior board requests: a letter to federal delegates and staff work on potential waivers. Hart responded that staff have discussed waivers and EdFlex, and that the state’s grant-application history and EdFlex exclusions shape the options staff will recommend. She invited deputies to weigh in and said staff will continue to coordinate with legislators to provide background research for possible bills.

Hart closed by asking board members to include her in requests to staff to avoid conflicting answers from different staff members and to help her allocate resources where workloads are heaviest. “If board members… have a question or if you need help with something, regardless of the staff member, please include Superintendent Hart so she can help navigate where that's going to, and so you're not getting several different answers,” a board member said during discussion.

Why it matters: the administrative shift described by Hart could increase state-level responsibility for implementing federal programs and for pursuing competitive grants; budget uncertainty and EdFlex exclusions constrain immediate planning. Staff and board members said they are aligning agency activities to the board’s strategic plan and preparing to support legislators drafting education bills.

No formal motions or votes were recorded on these items during the meeting; staff described ongoing work and planning steps.