SPECIAL REPORT
What Does the Dismantling of U.S. Education Department Mean to School Transportation?
Written by Carol Brzozowski
S
chool districts nationwide are assessing how the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education (ED), including workforce cuts and interagency agreements (IAAs), could affect school transpor-
tation service and funding. While full closure requires full congressional approv-
al, which hadn’t occurred at this publication, a majority of its core duties have been reassigned to other federal agencies. Civil rights and student privacy functions have moved to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), while special education functions tied to the Individuals with Dis- abilities Education Act (IDEA) have shifted in part to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Prior to the formation of ED by Congress in 1979, the precursor to IDEA, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, as well as other federal education initiatives operated within the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Rosalyn Vann-Jackson, the chief support services officer for Broken Arrow Public Schools in Oklahoma
42 School Transportation News • OCTOBER 2026
and NAPT Region 4 director, said the impact is difficult to predict. But it could disrupt continuity of services and increase existing challenges. Transportation as a related service under IDEA is
already severely underfunded, she said, even as the number of students requiring specialized transportation continues to increase locally and nationally while spe- cialized transportation gets expensive. The IAAs “may cause us to not focus on ramping up
that service that is needed in an existing challenge we have in funding,” Vann-Jackson said, adding the same is true of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, which continues to operate within ED. School transportation is a significant indicator of
educational outcomes regarding equity for students, Vann-Jackson noted, adding “attendance is critical for our families in light of the economy and challenges we are experiencing. While there may be a loss of institutional knowledge, there are opportunities through a new set of eyes and lens
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