Referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
The Sovereign States Education Restoration Act would abolish the federal Department of Education 270 days after enactment and transfer most of its programs to other federal agencies or to the states. Specific programs like special education services would move to the Department of Health and Human Services, federal student loan and grant programs would transfer to the Treasury Department, and Native American education would go to the Department of Interior. The bill would then establish two new block grant programs through the Treasury Department—one for K-12 education and one for higher education—that distribute federal funding to states based on their student enrollment, allowing states broad flexibility in how they spend the money. States receiving these grants must submit annual student data, pass financial audits, and comply with federal civil rights laws, with enforcement handled by the Department of Justice. The legislation authorizes funding equal to what the Department of Education received in fiscal year 2019, allocating up to 50 percent for state block grants and up to 20 percent for federal administration.
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