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Education Dismantling and What It Means for Federal Employees

appropriations law civil rights enforcement education department federal employment mspb appeals Nov 19, 2025

Federal employees are watching a quiet but sweeping restructuring take place: core functions of the Department of Education are being carved out and reassigned to Interior, State, HHS, and Labor. These are not proposed moves. They are already being executed through a series of interagency agreements that shift billions in K–12 and higher-education funding—especially for low-income, disabled, Native, and migrant students—into agencies with no history of administering these programs.

Here’s the legal tension: Congress created these programs by statute inside the Department of Education. Congress—not the President—has the constitutional authority to create, structure, and dissolve federal departments. When the Executive Branch moves statutory programs outside the department Congress assigned them to, it risks crossing the line into the kind of executive overreach the Supreme Court condemned in Youngstown and Clinton v. City of New York. For GS-9 and above employees, the takeaway is clear: agency direction and statutory authority may soon diverge sharply. Preserve every instruction you receive and ensure your work aligns with the law Congress actually wrote.

Risks to Appropriations, Civil Rights, and Your Mission

Another emerging fault line is appropriations. Funds designated for civil rights enforcement, special education, Title I, and campus-based supports are appropriated to Education for specific purposes. If redirected—functionally or formally—to agencies with different missions, courts may treat the move as ultra vires. For employees processing grants, overseeing compliance, or certifying use of funds, that matters. When the legal footing beneath a program shifts, so does your exposure to scrutiny, IG audits, and potential whistleblower implications.

At the same time, the workforce responsible for enforcing Title IX, IDEA, disability rights, and racial-discrimination protections has reportedly been cut by more than half. Entire regional offices are dissolving. As these teams disappear, the practical consequence for federal professionals is twofold: increased workloads for those who remain, and heightened pressure to meet statutory obligations with diminishing infrastructure.

How to Protect Yourself as Duties Shift Around You

If you are suddenly reassigned, redirected, or told your program now “belongs” to another agency, slow down and ground yourself in two stabilizing questions:

Is this action consistent with the statute governing the program?
Is this consistent with the appropriation Congress enacted?

Your role is not to resist change—it’s to ensure compliance. Document instructions carefully. Maintain contemporaneous notes. And if you notice processes drifting away from statutory guardrails, flag issues through the channels your agency provides. A mindful approach doesn’t ignore risk; it meets it steadily, without panic, and with attention to detail that protects both you and the public you serve.

The Human Impact Behind the Legal Questions

For many of you, this isn’t just procedural turbulence. It touches the core of your mission: protecting students who historically relied on federal oversight when states failed them. When that safety net frays, anxiety is normal. Anchor yourself in what remains within your control—your professionalism, your documentation, and your commitment to lawful public service.

Legal Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. While I am a federal employment attorney, this post does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every situation is unique, and legal outcomes depend on specific facts and circumstances.

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