On July 30, 2026 he U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee plans to take up two bills next week that would prohibit the outsourcing of certain education programs from the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) to other federal agencies. One of them is a bipartisan bill that would prohibit interagency agreements for various K-12 and postsecondary activities. The other bill specifically addresses special education.
Under bill S. 5046, sponsored by Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, the USDE could not transfer offices that oversee special education, postsecondary education, elementary and secondary education, and Native American education programs. The bipartisan bill would prevent federal agencies from using existing interagency agreements, contracting and transfer authorities to circumvent bans on interagency agreements
The other bill is the Special Education Administration Protection Act. Filed by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the bill would bar the USDE from outsourcing special education programming to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Cassidy, a physician, is chair of the Senate HELP Committee. The special education interagency agreement with HHS has been a source of much contention with opponents arguing that it would hurt services for children with disabilities. Neither bill addresses the USDE’s equally controversial Office for Civil Rights (OCR) interagency agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
In addition. interagency agreements that were in effect on Feb. 1, 2025, would be exempt from the proposed bans under both bills.
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