SILVER SPRING, MD - The Association of University Centers on Disabilities condemns the Administration’s decision to move key special education offices from the Department of Education to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) are essential to fulfilling the promise of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Moving them out of the Department of Education will invite unequal treatment of students with disabilities and weaken protections for students with disabilities and their families. Changing the jurisdiction of special education from the Department of Education to HHS for OSERS will lead to segregation and stigmatization of students with disabilities, treating their needs as primarily healthcare-related and not education-related. This also adds a barrier to streamlined coordination and collaboration between the federal government agencies responsible for education policy for disabled children and nondisabled children. Because the IDEA mandates the existence of certain special education offices within the Department of Education, the Administration’s decision may even run afoul of the law.
“Moving these offices will disenfranchise students with disabilities,” said Lillie Heigl, Director of Policy at AUCD. “Fifty years ago, IDEA changed the lives of children with disabilities for the better, codifying their right to a free and appropriate education. Now, the Department of Education’s actions threaten fifty years of progress. The changes at the Department will erode IDEA protections and push our community backwards to the days of isolation and segregation. We cannot let that happen.”
AUCD affirms every student’s right to fair and appropriate education. OSERS and OCR are essential to making that right a reality across the country. When parents or teachers advocate on behalf of students with disabilities, they can go to OCR for justice. OSERS is the federal “engine room” for special education in the U.S., ensuring that IDEA is more than just a law on paper and is actively implemented in states, districts, and schools. It connected a student’s education to gaining employment and living independently through rehabilitative services. By creating agreements with HHS and DOJ to take on the work of these offices, the Department is running afoul of federal statute and threatening the stability of hard-won civil rights protections for students with disabilities.
On November 18, the Administration announced that the Education Department is signing six new interagency agreements (IAAs) to shift some Education offices over to four other federal agencies—the Departments of Labor, Interior, Health and Human Services, and State. Most grant programs under the Education Department's K-12 and higher education offices will be moved to Labor, including the work of the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and Office of Postsecondary Education, which contain Transition and Postsecondary Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities (TPSID) and workforce development programs. Today’s announcement concerning OSERS and OCR further breaks up the Education Department, fragmenting the services and resources that students and parents rely on.
While AUCD recognizes the valuable expertise within HHS and that many disability programs are carried out from HHS, HHS does not have the expertise, infrastructure, or resources to take on these offices. Special education is an education issue, not a healthcare issue, and students with disabilities deserve to have their rights protected by experts in education policy.
Formally dismantling the Department of Education requires an act of Congress. Attempts by the Administration to take down the Department of Education skirt congressional authority and are an overreach of power. AUCD is alarmed by the actions of this Administration, which are causing real and lasting harm to students with disabilities and their families.
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Plain Language
The Association of University Centers on Disabilities is against the Administration’s decision to move the offices that work on special education out of the Department of Education. These offices are called the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). The people who work in them make sure that students with disabilities are protected in schools and if they are treated badly, they can get justice. They are in the Department of Education because their work is all about making sure students with disabilities are treated fairly in the education system. Moving these offices to other Departments would be treating students with disabilities differently than students without disabilities, which is not fair.
The Administration is moving OSERS to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). AUCD is against this because it does not make sense. Students with disabilities should be treated first as students, not as people with health issues. Also, people who work in HHS are not trained to work on education issues.
Under OSERS is the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) This office makes sure schools are following the rules of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). OSEP turns IDEA from a law on paper into real changes in peoples' lives. They also give money to programs for students in special education. They make sure that schools are following the rules of IDEA.
The Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) is also under OSERS. The RSA supports people with disabilities going from school to employment and living independently. The Administration fired many people who get information about vocational rehabilitation, which is training people so they can get a job. This information is really important, but no one is there to get the information or tell the public about it. The Rehabilitation Act and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) are both laws that support people with disabilities going from school to work and helping them live in the community.
AUCD is also against moving OSERS to HHS because the Secretary of HHS, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has said many things about people with disabilities that shows he doesn’t understand them and doesn’t respect them. Secretary Kennedy has said things that are not true about autism.
The Administration is moving the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) to the Department of Justice (DOJ). This office is in charge of making sure students are being treated fairly. When a student with a disability is treated unfairly because of their disability, they go to OCR to get justice. This might mean that a school is punished or has to change its rules to be more fair. It takes a lot of people to look into cases where there might be discrimination against someone with a disability. Discrimination means to treat someone badly because of who they are. The people who look into these cases are called investigators.
OCR gets a lot of complaints from students and families about discrimination. Discrimination is when you are treated badly because of who you are. The DOJ is not prepared to handle the huge amount of complaints that OCR gets. Many people will not be able to get help with their issues, and may have to wait a long time. This could mean that students in wheelchairs might not be able to get to their classes if they are not accessible. It could mean that students with learning disabilities might get behind in school if they don’t have supports.
The Administration wants to close the Department of Education, but they can’t officially do that. Congress is the only one that can close a Department in the federal government. The Administration has been making big changes to the Department so it has less work. These changes might not be legal, including the changes to special education offices.
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Alt Text: Image of a globe with a burst of lines. Text: AUCD Association of University Centers on Disabilities
