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State education leaders brief board on planned federal moves of K–12 and special-education programs
Summary
Superintendent Hart and state staff told the Utah State Board of Education that certain K–12 and special-education programs may be administratively moved to other federal agencies but that statutory protections and rulemaking authority would remain with the Department of Education; state officials said details and staffing questions remain unsettled.
Superintendent Hart told the Utah State Board of Education that federal officials are considering moving the administrative home for some K–12 and special-education programs to other agencies such as the Department of Labor or Health and Human Services, but that the underlying laws and Office for Civil Rights protections would remain intact.
“Those programs are simply moving. It’s like moving furniture in your home,” Superintendent Hart said, adding that ‘‘the Office for Civil Rights still has the same protections’’ and that ‘‘none of the laws change just because it’s in a different location.’’ Scott Jones, the board’s Deputy Superintendent of Operations, asked board members to review a Washington-based advisory snapshot the state received and said staff would share the report link with the public.
The remarks came as board members sought clarity about whether moving program administration would reduce federal mandates or change enforcement. Member Davis asked why shifting administrative responsibility would not amount to block-granting funds to states and whether Congress had altered the Department of Education’s authority. Hart responded that the same officials retain authority and that the moves are intended to change administrative location, not the rules or programmatic protections.
Sarah Harwood, the board’s grants compliance officer, said the Department of Education would retain rulemaking authority while administrative responsibility might transfer to other departments. Harwood added that some programs already have moved to the Department of Labor under existing interagency agreements but that pending agreements may adjust those arrangements; staffing transitions are not yet settled.
Board members said they will press federal officials for details when state leaders meet with the secretary and assistant secretaries in Washington, D.C. The board did not take formal action on the federal reorganization; members were told staff would continue to monitor developments and report back.
The board’s next scheduled consideration on discretionary spending followed this discussion.
