Utah superintendent says federal education changes are a ‘‘moving target’’ after D.C. meetings

Superintendent Dixon told the Utah State Board of Education that a recent Washington, D.C., trip with other state chiefs produced informal, candid conversations with Secretary McMahon and members of Utah’s congressional delegation and highlighted rapidly changing federal guidance on K-12 programs.

Dixon said the secretary urged state chiefs to examine “wasteful spending” and described an intention to redirect any savings back into special education, which the superintendent paraphrased as: “Where we find waste, we want to make sure that that comes back into special education.” She said Secretary McMahon also told the group she did not expect immediate action on reauthorizing the Education Savings Accounts policy, calling that a congressional responsibility.

The trip produced several practical concerns for Utah school officials. Dixon said one immediate question is what will happen to federal data systems and research capacity after staffing changes; she described uncertainty about the future of EDFacts and other data functions, and said state officials need to know where student- and district-level data will be housed and how it will be certified if federal offices are reorganized or disbanded.

Dixon said she heard a consistent message from members of Utah’s delegation that they want better and more direct communication from the Department of Education. She told the board that offices representing individual members asked to receive pertinent documents and summaries from the state when agency communications arrive.

Dixon also said Secretary McMahon expressed support for retaining the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) “so that we have some way to assess as a nation how we’re doing,” and that the secretary acknowledged underfunding for students with greater needs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and an interest in returning resources to those programs.

On federal compliance and reporting, Dixon told board members she had already received a communication from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) asking the state to certify Local Education Agencies’ compliance with Title VI obligations related to diversity, equity and inclusion; she said she planned to forward that OCR correspondence to board members.

Dixon cautioned that federal guidance has changed frequently during the period she described, giving the example of waiver dates for ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds that were at times extended and then rescinded. “The communication we get changes daily,” she said, adding that much of the information the state receives arrives through partners and research collaborators rather than directly from the department.

Why it matters: federal decisions can change funding flows and reporting requirements for Utah districts and charter schools; uncertainty about where national datasets will be housed could affect states’ ability to certify data used in federal funding calculations.

Dixon invited questions and said the department’s position could shift quickly with new federal emails or guidance, and that the state will try to streamline communication with congressional offices and monitor federal office reorganizations closely.

Ending: Dixon said she would share the OCR Title VI communication with board members and field follow-ups as federal guidance evolves.