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Education Week reports that the U.S. Department of Education has entered into a new interagency agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to take a growing role in administering six K–12–related grant programs, including Full-Service Community Schools, Promise Neighborhoods, Project SERV, National Activities (mental health), Ready to Learn, and Statewide Family Engagement Centers. Separately, the U.S. Department of State will assume management of a higher education foreign gifts reporting portal. These moves bring the total number of interagency agreements under Secretary Linda McMahon to nine, as the administration continues efforts to wind down core functions of the department. While Congress approved a fiscal 2026 budget with a modest overall increase for Education Department programs—and did not prohibit new interagency agreements—it expressed concern about the transfers. Notably, the department will retain statutory responsibilities and oversight, while HHS will run grant competitions and provide technical assistance.
The programs now shifting to HHS have already experienced disruption. The department discontinued approximately $168 million in anticipated Community Schools funding across 11 states, terminated multiple mental health and family engagement grants, and canceled $23 million in Ready to Learn awards, contributing to the shutdown of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. At the same time, new mental health grant competitions have reopened amid ongoing legal challenges. These facts underscore that the transfer is occurring in a context of instability, not stasis.
For state and local leaders, the practical takeaway is clear: federal education policy is increasingly being implemented through cross-agency structures. School systems, nonprofit partners, and higher education institutions will need to track not only appropriations but also administrative homes, reporting lines, and compliance expectations. In this environment, governance architecture—not just funding levels—has become a central lever of education policy.
The U.S. Department of Education on Monday announced it will begin offloading the management of key federal programs for school safety, community schools, educational TV programming, and family engagement as the Trump administration continues its bid to wind down the agency.
