H.R. 3345 — Sovereign States Education Restoration Act

This section abolishes the Department of Education effective 270 days after the date of enactment and repeals all programs administered by the Secretary of Education or the department, except for those transferred under section 3 of this Act, including each program under the Department of Education Organization Act and the General Education Provisions Act. (Thus, federal administration of K-12 programs, higher education student aid, special education, and related functions would end absent transfers.)

This section requires the transfer of specified Department of Education functions, programs, and authorities to other federal departments not later than 180 days after enactment. The transfers include (1) all functions, programs, and authorities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to the Department of Health and Human Services; (2) each authority and program of the Office of Indian Education to the Department of the Interior; (3) each Impact Aid program under title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (i.e., payments to local educational agencies for federal impacts on local tax bases) to the Department of Health and Human Services; and (4) the following programs under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965—including the Federal Pell Grant Program (i.e., need-based grants to low-income undergraduates), Federal Family Education Loan Program (part B), William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (part D), Federal Perkins Loan Program (part E), and activities under parts F, G, and H—to the Department of the Treasury, along with (9) the Health Education Assistance Loan program under title VII of the Public Health Service Act to the Department of the Treasury and (10) programs under the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 and Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002 to the Department of the Treasury.

This section establishes two state block grant programs administered by the Secretary of the Treasury: (1) an elementary and secondary education block grant, allocated formulaically based on each state's share of prior fiscal year K-12 enrollment in public, private, and home schools and usable for early childhood, elementary, or secondary education purposes, including career and technical education; and (2) a postsecondary education block grant, allocated based on each state's share of prior fiscal year postsecondary enrollment. To receive funds, states must assure the Secretary of (1) annual submission of requested student data, (2) Single Audit Act-compliant annual audits, and (3) compliance with applicable federal civil rights laws. For misused or misappropriated funds, the Secretary may require repayment, withhold the next fiscal year's allocation, or enter a voluntary resolution agreement. Defines "state" to include the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and outlying areas (American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau).

This section directs the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice to receive complaints and enforce applicable federal civil rights laws—including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (prohibiting disability discrimination in federally funded programs), Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (prohibiting race, color, and national origin discrimination), and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (prohibiting sex discrimination in education programs)—for grant programs under section 4 and programs described in paragraphs (4) through (7) of section 3.

This section authorizes appropriations equal to the total amount appropriated to the Department of Education for FY2019 to carry out sections 3, 4, and 5, of which (1) not more than 50% is for block grants to states under section 4; and (2) not more than 20% is for federal agency administration and oversight.