# Plain Language Summary: Department of Education Protection Act

This bill prevents the Department of Education from using its current budget money to reorganize itself in ways that would shrink the department, cut staff, or change how it operates. Essentially, it freezes the department's structure as it existed on January 1, 2025, and says the department can't spend money to restructure itself differently during the current fiscal year.

The bill's supporters argue that Congress—not the executive branch—should have the power to decide how federal agencies are organized and run. They believe the Department of Education's current setup, with its various offices handling student aid, civil rights, special education, and other functions, is designed to help students succeed and ensure equal access to education. The bill lists all these offices specifically to protect them from being eliminated, merged, or significantly changed.

In practical terms, this means if anyone in the executive branch wanted to reorganize the Education Department—whether that means closing offices, moving responsibilities around, laying off staff, or restructuring how the department operates—they couldn't use the department's existing budget money to do it. They would need Congress to pass a new law allowing it or providing new funding specifically for reorganization. This is a significant constraint on executive power, as it essentially locks in the department's current organizational structure for at least the current fiscal year.

Department of Education Protection Act

Hayes, Jahana

Department of Education Protection ActThis bill prohibits the use of appropriated funds made available to the Department of Education (ED) to decentralize, reduce the staffing level of, or alter the responsibilities or functionality of ED compared to its organization or operation on January 1, 2025.