# 119-s-1402: Returning Education to Our States Act 119-s-1402, Returning Education to Our States Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD] (R-SD); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2025-12-21). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1402 - As of: 2025-12-21 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-s-1402 - Congress: 119 - Title: Returning Education to Our States Act - Status: introduced - Introduced: 2025-04-09 - Sponsor: Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD] (R-SD) - Cosponsors: 2 - Policy area: Education - Touches household money: yes - Last recorded action: 2025-12-21 ## Summary **Abolishes the Department of Education** and redistributes its programs across multiple federal departments while creating large state block grants for K–12 and higher education. It would shift civil rights enforcement to the Justice Department and reassign higher education functions to agencies such as Treasury and Labor. ## Cosponsors (2) - Sen. Banks, Jim [R-IN] (R-IN), 2025-04-09T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Sheehy, Tim [R-MT] (R-MT), 2025-04-09T00:00:00.000Z ## Provisions PRIA read - HHS to run IDEA, homeless services, Special Olympics: benefit, high. If enacted, one year after enactment the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), some homeless-education functions, and the Special Olympics program would move from the Education Department to Health and Human Services. HHS would run these programs and their grants. The bill keeps progr… - Labor to run career and vocational programs: benefit, high. If enacted, one year after enactment several workforce and vocational education programs would move to the Department of Labor. The transfers would include adult education, career and technical education, and certain disability and rehabilitation programs. Labor would become the agency that runs th… - State grants for K–12 and early childhood: benefit, high. If enacted, one year after enactment the Health and Human Services Secretary would give States block grants for early childhood through secondary education. Each State would get what it would have under Title I before this bill. Small shares would go to outlying areas and the Bureau of Indian Educa… - Fulbright program moved to State: benefit, low. If enacted, one year after enactment the Fulbright‑Hays international exchange and training program would move from the Education Department to the Department of State. State would run the exchange, training, and cultural programs. The transfer does not change who is eligible in the bill's text. - Abolish Education Department, manage transition: mixed, high. If enacted, this bill would end the U.S. Department of Education one year after enactment and repeal the law that created it. The bill would require a presidential reorganization plan within 120 days and let agencies use temporary funds to carry out transfers for up to 180 days. It would let the Ed… - Civil rights enforcement shifts to Justice: mixed, high. If enacted, the bill would abolish the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights one year after enactment and move enforcement of education civil rights laws to the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. The bill would also keep the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) in eff… - Treasury to run college aid and research: mixed, high. If enacted, this bill would move federal student aid (Title IV) and the Health Education Assistance Loan program to the Department of the Treasury one year after enactment. It would also move national education research, technical assistance, and the NAEP assessment to Treasury. The bill would crea… - DoD to administer Title VII programs: mixed, medium. If enacted, one year after enactment the Department of Defense would take over programs and authorities under Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Schools and students served by those programs would be managed by DoD instead of the Education Department. The bill does not change… - Interior to run Native American education: mixed, low. If enacted, one year after enactment the Department of the Interior would take over administration of certain Native American and Alaska Native education programs, including the Office of Indian Education programs and some subparts of the ESEA. Tribal schools and agencies would deal with Interior f… ## Related bills - 119-s-4744: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act - 119-s-275: Veterans’ Assuring Critical Care Expansions to Support Servicemembers (ACCESS) Act of 2025 - 119-s-3597: National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2026 - 119-s-124: Restore VA Accountability Act of 2025 - 119-s-3752: SAVE America Act - 119-s-2907: Chloe Cole Act ## Sources - [119-s-1402 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1402) ## Related - [119-s-4744: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4744) - [119-s-275: Veterans’ Assuring Critical Care Expansions to Support Servicemembers (ACCESS)…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-275) - [119-s-3597: National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3597) - [119-s-124: Restore VA Accountability Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-124) - [119-s-3752: SAVE America Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3752) - [119-s-2907: Chloe Cole Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2907) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1402 (as of 2025-12-21).