U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

February 24, 2026 - On Monday, the U.S. Department of Education released the following:

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) today announced two new interagency agreements (IAAs) to further break up the federal education bureaucracy, ensure efficient delivery of funded programs and activities, and continue delivering on the President’s promise to return education to the states. By partnering with agencies that are better positioned to deliver results for students and taxpayers, the new partnerships will streamline federal education activities on legally required programs, reduce administrative burdens, and refocus programs and activities to better serve students and grantees.   

The new partnerships with the Departments of State (State) and Health and Human Services (HHS) mark a major step toward improving the management of select ED programs by leveraging partner agencies’ administrative expertise and experience working with relevant stakeholders. State will partner with ED on the Section 117 foreign gift reporting, and HHS will partner with ED on family engagement and school support programs. 

These agreements follow seven agency partnerships signed last year, including a workforce development partnership with the Department of Labor, which has created an integrated federal education and workforce system and reduced the need for states to consult multiple federal agencies to effectively manage their programs.  

“As we continue to break up the federal education bureaucracy and return education to the states, our new partnerships with the State Department and HHS represent a practical step toward greater efficiency, stronger coordination, and meaningful improvement,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “Foreign gift data reported by universities should be readily accessible to our top national security experts, allowing for proactive and decisive action to protect America’s critical interests, as this partnership with State enables. By leveraging HHS’s extensive emergency preparedness capabilities, we are creating a stronger foundation for supporting students and strengthening the safety of the school building. Together, these efforts strengthen accountability and security in our education system, ensuring it serves students and families above all else.”

ED and State: Section 117 Partnership 

ED and State are establishing a partnership to improve the accuracy and transparency of foreign gift and contract reporting for certain domestic public and private institutions of higher education (IHEs) in the United States, which is required under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Through this partnership, State will support ED in managing the Section 117 foreign funding reporting portal and use its national security and foreign national academic admissions expertise to review and assess the industry’s compliance with the law, share data with the public and federal stakeholders, and identify potential threats. The Section 117 partnership will ensure the data gathered from the portal can be easily used by national security experts, allowing potential threats to be addressed decisively and proactively by an agency that is best equipped to protect America’s most vital interests across all domains. 

• “President Trump has been clear: Americans deserve transparency regarding foreign funding in American higher education.  This partnership gives the State Department additional tools and resources to make good on that promise while safeguarding the integrity of our academic institutions. We look forward to deploying these new authorities to strengthen both research security and national security,” said Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers.  
   

View the partnership fact sheet for Section 117 here. 

ED and HHS: Family Engagement and School Support Partnership 

ED and HHS are deepening their partnership to improve the safety and physical security of education institutions. Leveraging its experience and expertise in helping communities respond to serious events, HHS will take a growing role in administering the School Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV), School Safety National Activities, Ready to Learn Programming, Full-Service Community Schools, Promise Neighborhoods, and Statewide Family Engagement Centers. The partnership will better keep American students, teachers, and administrators safe and secure in education institutions by consolidating resources and initiatives to provide a unified federal strategy focused on school support and related issues. With proper oversight by ED, HHS will manage competitions, provide technical assistance, and integrate ED’s programs with the larger suite of disaster preparedness and response programs that HHS already administers. 

• “Nothing matters more than the safety of our children,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “HHS brings decades of frontline experience responding to crises and disasters, and we are putting that expertise directly into our schools. We will equip communities with the tools they need to protect students, support teachers, and keep families safe.” 

View the partnership fact sheet for Family Engagement and School Support here. 

Source: U.S. Dept. of ED.