Critics of Education Department Changes See Difficult Path to Restore Agency After Program Closures

Another office at the Department of Education is on the chopping block after a year of efforts to dismantle the federal agency, pushing the hope of restoration for certain programs further out of reach for opponents.

The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA), used to support English language learners, is the latest of dozens of programs that have been broken up or moved by the Education Department to fulfill President Trump’s campaign promise to shut down the agency.

While opponents have not lost hope the department can be rebuilt, the task becomes more difficult by the day with programs shuttered, thousands of employees fired and some initiatives transferring to completely different federal agencies.

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Education Week first reported that the Education Department sent a letter to Congress back in February informing lawmakers of the intention to shut down OELA.

The office has managed almost $1 billion in Title III funds to support the 5 million English language learners in U.S. schools, helping schools and educators cover the costs of services and teacher preparation for these students.

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While the official notice was put into place in February, work at OELA and other offices has been diminished for a year after the Education Department slashed its workforce from 4,000 to 2,000 employees last year.

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The Education Department has announced numerous interagency agreements, including major changes such as moving the federal student loan portfolio to the Treasury Department. Other agencies receiving programs from the department include the State Department, Department of Health and Human Services, Interior Department and the Labor Department.

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