State education chiefs signaled alarm after the department’s interagency agreements, warning that moving core federal programs to multiple agencies will complicate state–federal coordination and could slow funding to districts and campuses. Officials from several states told reporters that they were not consulted and fear duplicative bureaucracy and confusing lines of authority. Idaho superintendent Debbie Critchfield and others emphasized that while funding should flow uninterrupted, operational changes—especially for Perkins CTE and other workforce programs already shifted to Labor—are already creating administrative friction. State leaders urged clearer guidance and transition timelines to avoid disruption to K‑12 and postsecondary operators that depend on federal grants.