The U.S. Department of Education has begun outsourcing major parts of federal civil-rights enforcement and special education oversight to other agencies, expanding the Trump administration’s “Returning Education to the States” push. The latest agreements move the Office for Civil Rights functions to the U.S. Department of Justice while shifting special education responsibilities to the Department of Health and Human Services. The DOJ partnership is designed to use DOJ’s civil-rights enforcement capabilities to evaluate, investigate, and resolve complaints involving discrimination, harassment, and student privacy. The Education Department said it will retain statutory management responsibilities and keep final decision authority over whether cases are pursued administratively or referred for judicial enforcement. Advocates and former OCR lawyers warn that the institutional mismatch between OCR’s education-focused complaint review role and DOJ’s enforcement structure could weaken protections. Several former OCR leaders cite differences in process and mandate, particularly in how quickly and comprehensively affected students receive relief. The changes also follow earlier steps in which additional Education Department programs were transferred under 14 interagency agreements, underscoring how rapidly federal oversight functions are being reallocated.