WASHINGTON – The Trump administration took major steps on Tuesday, Nov. 18, to further dismantle the federal Education Department.

The agency finalized six agreements to outsource aspects of its workload to four other parts of the federal government, according to copies of the plans.

The move represents one of the most significant actions to fully eliminate the Education Department, following President Donald Trump's executive order in March to do so.

In a statement, Education Secretary Linda McMahon pledged to "work with Congress to codify these reforms."

“Cutting through layers of red tape in Washington is one essential piece of our final mission," she said.

While only Congress can completely axe a federal agency, the Supreme Court has allowed the White House to move forward – for now – with mass Education Department layoffs. Since the court showed deference to the administration on the issue, the agency has also proceeded to offload some of its responsibilities to the Department of Labor.

A wide range of divisions were affected by the move this week. Staffers in those offices could start moving to those other agencies in the coming weeks and months.

As part of the changes, the Department of Labor will shoulder a significantly larger role in administering programs for colleges, universities and K-12 schools.

The Interior Department, meanwhile, will absorb more responsibilities related to Indigenous education. The Health and Human Services Department will take on the management of grants for parenting college students and assessing accreditation standards for foreign medical schools. And the State Department will begin doing more work related to foreign language studies and international education.

Rachel Gittleman, the president of the union representing Education Department workers, railed against the plans announced Tuesday.

"Breaking apart the Department of Education and moving its responsibilities elsewhere will only create more confusion for schools and colleges, deepen public distrust, and ultimately harm students and families," she said in a statement.

Despite widespread speculation, the changes did not include the department's special education office, which USA TODAY first reported was almost eliminated last month. The agency said Tuesday it is still mulling the future of its special education division, as well as its Office for Civil Rights and the Federal Student Aid office, which oversees student loans.

Tuesday's news was first reported by The Washington Post.

Staff in the Education Department are still reeling after roughly a fifth of them were laid off in October during the recent government shutdown. Their jobs were restored as part of a deal between Senate Democrats, Republicans and the White House to end the funding crisis.

(This story was updated with additional information.)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Education Department braces for further dismantling

Reporting by Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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