A coalition of 20 states and the District of Columbia filed an amended complaint on Nov. 25 challenging the U.S. Department of Education’s recent agreements that transfer day-to-day management of core K–12 and research programs to other federal agencies. The lawsuit names interagency deals that moved most K–12 grant administration to the Department of Labor and shifted smaller portfolios to HHS, Interior and State, and it argues those transfers exceed the secretary’s lawful reorganization authority. The plaintiffs include Democratic attorneys general, school districts, teacher and university-affiliated unions, and disability advocates who say federal law requires the Education Department itself to administer key programs. The suits cite a March executive order and Education Department actions framed by the administration’s stated intent to “facilitate” the department’s closure. Separately, reporting on the internal implementation shows the overhaul included mass contract cancellations and the termination of longstanding research projects—moves that disrupted Regional Educational Laboratories and longitudinal datasets. Federal researchers and state education officials warn those cuts risk erasing years of evidence-based interventions and core datasets used for policy and funding decisions. Legal and operational fallout is already unfolding: plaintiffs seek to block the handoffs and restore program control to the Education Department, while agency spokespeople say the changes are intended to streamline services. The case will determine how far a secretary may reassign statutorily established functions without congressional action.