February 25, 2026
Written by Sasha Pudelski, Director, Advocacy at AASA, The School Superintendents Association and member of the AESA advocacy team
On February 23, the U.S. Department of Education announced two additional Interagency Agreements (IAAs). Of particular relevance to superintendents, school safety grant activities at the Department which aimed to increase the number of school mental health personnel and to support schools following particularly violent or traumatic events will be transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Other school safety funding—such as the STOP School Violence Act grants—will remain within the U.S. Department of Justice. In addition, the Department of Education is shifting oversight of Ready to Learn Programming, Full-Service Community Schools, Promise Neighborhoods, and Statewide Family Engagement Centers to HHS. In total, HHS will now manage $557 million in programs formerly administered by the Department of Education. AESA continues to anticipate additional IAAs that would move the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services out of the Department of Education, as well as transfer the Office of Civil Rights to the U.S. Department of Justice.