The U.S. Department of Education is offloading more programs to other federal agencies to further “break up the federal education bureaucracy.”
Two new partnerships with the Departments of State and Health and Human Services aim to improve foreign gift and contract reporting for colleges and universities under Section 117, as well as improve school safety.
The Education Department has now established nine interagency partnerships since November.
“As we continue to break up the federal education bureaucracy and return education to the states, our new partnerships with the State Department and HHS represent a practical step toward greater efficiency, stronger coordination and meaningful improvement,” said Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
HHS will take on a greater responsibility for programs like the School Emergency Response to Violence Project (Project SERV), School Safety National Activities, Ready to Learn Programming, Full-Service Community Schools, Promise Neighborhoods and Statewide Family Engagement Centers.
The partnership will consolidate resources and initiatives to provide a more unified federal strategy surrounding school support, according to the Education Department.
Meanwhile, the State Department will guide Education in managing the Section 117 foreign funding reporting portal, assisting in reviewing and assessing compliance with the law, sharing data with public and federal stakeholders and identifying potential threats.
“President Trump has been clear: Americans deserve transparency regarding foreign funding in American higher education,” said Sarah Rogers, under secretary of State for Public Diplomacy. “This partnership gives the State Department additional tools and resources to make good on that promise while safeguarding the integrity of our academic institutions.”
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