PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Sep 2, 2026
This bill prohibits the Department of Education (ED) from transferring specified offices and functions to other federal agencies.
Specifically, the bill prohibits ED from entering into or carrying out interagency agreements related to the following four offices: the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, the Office of Postsecondary Education, the Office of Indian Education, and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.
This prohibition applies to the transfer of functions such as administering or operating programs, making grants, carrying out technical assistance, enforcing rights and requirements (e.g., data collection requirements), conducting administrative and oversight functions, and monitoring grantees.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Additionally, ED may not transfer a function or program of one of the four offices to another ED office and then subsequently enter into an interagency agreement related to the function or program.
The bill does not apply to agreements in effect on February 1, 2025, or renewals with substantially similar terms.
ED must, within two weeks of the bill's enactment and on a quarterly basis, provide to Congress (and publish on its website) a report and cost analysis for each interagency agreement entered into on or after February 1, 2025. ED may not use specified FY2026 or FY2027 funds for travel expenses unless ED provides this required information.
(As of July 30, 2026, ED has entered into 14 interagency agreements to transfer functions of ED to other federal agencies, including the ED offices listed in the bill.)
People & committees
Rep. Mannion, John W. [D-NY-22] · D–NY
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Sep 18, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2026-09-02 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This bill would restrict the Education Department from using other federal agencies to perform work belonging to four education offices, while preserving certain existing arrangements and renewals. It would also require public reports comparing interagency agreement costs with earlier spending. The Secretary’s access to certain travel funds would depend on providing those reports. These are proposed requirements, not evidence of enacted law.
the Secretary of Education shall not enter into any agreement, or implement any agreement existing on the date of enactment of this Act, with another Federal agency
This section shall not apply to— (1) any procurement, contract, agreement (including an agreement for obtaining goods or services), transfer, or similar arrangement, between the Department of Education and another Federal agency that was in effect on February 1, 2025
make available to the public in an easily accessible format on the Department’s website, a detailed analysis and report that contains information on the actual and estimated obligations for implementing each interagency agreement by each party to such agreements and a comparison to actual expenditures for carrying out such responsibilities for fiscal year 2024.
may be obligated or expended for travel expenses of the Secretary of Education unless the Secretary provides the information required in accordance with subsection (a).
Section 1 would cover four Education Department offices: Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Postsecondary Education, Indian Education, and Elementary and Secondary Education.
(2) Offices The offices of the Department of Education described in this paragraph are— (A) the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services authorized under section 207 of the Department of Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3417); (B) the Office of Postsecondary Education authorized under section 205 of the Department of Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3415); (C) the Office of Indian Education authorized under section 215 of the Department of Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3423c); and (D) the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education authorized under section 204 of the Department of Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3414).
Subject to the existing-arrangement exception, the Secretary would be barred from entering into or implementing agreements with other federal agencies concerning the covered offices’ functions. The restriction would extend beyond transferring programs: it would cover purchases, services, funding transfers, shared facilities and joint projects involving those functions. Covered work includes running programs, awarding grants, technical assistance, enforcing requirements and overseeing grant recipients.
and subject to subsection (b), the Secretary of Education shall not enter into any agreement, or implement any agreement existing on the date of enactment of this Act, with another Federal agency, or procure services from, contract or carry out an agreement with, obtain any goods or services from, transfer activities or appropriations to, use the research, equipment, services, or facilities of, jointly carry out projects of common interest with, or enter into a similar arrangement with, another Federal agency, relating to the functions (including administering or operating programs, making grant awards, carrying out technical assistance, enforcing rights and requirements (such as data collection and data sharing requirements), conducting administrative and oversight functions, and monitoring grantees, related to any program, project, or activity for which funds are appropriated to the Department of Education) of any of the Department of Education’s offices described in paragraph (2), including functions of the Secretary of Education related to programs administered by such offices.
The Secretary could not move a covered function or program to another Education Department office outside the covered list and then enter into an agreement with another federal agency concerning that work.
The Secretary of Education shall not transfer a function or program from an office described in paragraph (2) to another office of the Department of Education not described in paragraph (2), and subsequently enter into an agreement with another Federal agency relating to such function or program.
Section 1 would exempt arrangements between the Education Department and other federal agencies that were in effect on February 1, 2025. Renewals would also be exempt if they contained only the same or substantially similar terms.
(b) Exception This section shall not apply to— (1) any procurement, contract, agreement (including an agreement for obtaining goods or services), transfer, or similar arrangement, between the Department of Education and another Federal agency that was in effect on February 1, 2025; and (2) the renewal of such a procurement, contract, agreement, transfer, or similar arrangement described in this subsection if the renewal contains only the same, or substantially similar, terms.
Within two weeks after enactment and every quarter afterward, the Secretary would have to report on every interagency agreement entered into on or after February 1, 2025. This reporting requirement is not limited to the four offices in section 1. Reports would go to the specified House and Senate education and appropriations committees and appear in an easily accessible format on the Department’s website. They would compare each party’s actual and estimated financial commitments with actual spending on those responsibilities in fiscal year 2024.
Not later than 2 weeks after the date of enactment of this Act and each quarter thereafter, the Secretary of Education shall, for each interagency agreement entered into on or after February 1, 2025, by the Secretary with another Federal agency, provide to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, and the Committee on Education and Workforce and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, and make available to the public in an easily accessible format on the Department’s website, a detailed analysis and report that contains information on the actual and estimated obligations for implementing each interagency agreement by each party to such agreements and a comparison to actual expenditures for carrying out such responsibilities for fiscal year 2024.
The reports would have to include actual and estimated financial commitments for administering grants and training federal staff, state and local grant-recipient staff, grant recipients and eligible applicants. This includes training on changes to grant and payment systems.
Each report required under this subsection shall contain, at a minimum, information on actual and estimated obligations for each of the following: (1) Grant administration, including outreach, grant notices, competitions, review (including peer review), award processes, disbursement, and monitoring. (2) Training and professional development of Department of Education, other Federal agency, and State and local grantee staff, such as training on transitioning to and using new grant and payment systems, program administration, and application processes. (3) Training of grantees and eligible grant applicants on transitioning to and using new grant and payment systems and processes.
Other required cost categories would include assigning or moving Education Department employees to other agencies, facilities and technology changes, overhead, changes in program contract costs, and staff reductions.
(4) Detailing, transferring, relocating, and onboarding Department of Education staff to other Federal agencies. (5) Changes or upgrades to facilities at the Department of Education or other Federal agencies. (6) Changes or upgrades to technology and infrastructure used at the Department of Education or other Federal agencies, or by State and local grantees implementing any such interagency agreement. (7) Overhead and administrative expenses attributed to each such interagency agreement. (8) Changes in costs of any contracts the Department of Education enters into to carry out programs covered by any such interagency agreement. (9) Reductions in force of Department of Education staff.
The Secretary’s travel could not be funded from fiscal year 2026 or 2027 Program Administration or Student Aid Administration funds unless the Secretary provided the required reporting information. The restriction would prohibit both committing and spending those funds for the Secretary’s travel.
None of the funds made available to the Department of Education for fiscal year 2026 or 2027 under Program Administration or Student Aid Administration may be obligated or expended for travel expenses of the Secretary of Education unless the Secretary provides the information required in accordance with subsection (a).
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated September 18, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Education and Workforce on September 2, 2026.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-18T18:23:36Z. 2026-09-02: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce. 2026-09-02: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2026-09-02. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy rider attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not extend to other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not establish the absence of earmarks in other versions or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The supplied introduced text contains a date-based exception to its main restriction. This classification identifies special treatment without judging its justification.
The Education Department and its federal agency counterparties would retain an exception for arrangements in effect on February 1, 2025, including renewals containing only the same or substantially similar terms. This gives that defined group of arrangements special treatment under section 1’s restrictions; the text does not name the individual arrangements or counterparties.
(b) Exception This section shall not apply to— (1) any procurement, contract, agreement (including an agreement for obtaining goods or services), transfer, or similar arrangement, between the Department of Education and another Federal agency that was in effect on February 1, 2025; and (2) the renewal of such a procurement, contract, agreement, transfer, or similar arrangement described in this subsection if the renewal contains only the same, or substantially similar, terms.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 18, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI