The Trump administration is making good on a long-promised plan to shift responsibility for many special education programs out of the U.S. Department of Education.
The Education Department said Tuesday that it has reached an “interagency agreement,” or IAA, with the Department of Health and Human Services to “support the administration” of several programs under the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, or OSERS.
Through the arrangement, HHS will handle grants authorized under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as well as the Vocational Rehabilitation Disability Innovation Fund, programs related to Special Olympics and a handful of other obligations. The Education Department will maintain “all statutory responsibilities,” but HHS will “manage competitions, provide technical assistance, and integrate ED’s programs” with the programs it already administers, the Education Department said.
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Separately, much of the agency’s Office for Civil Rights, or OCR, which fields complaints of disability discrimination in schools, will move to the Department of Justice, officials said. Families will continue to file complaints and communicate with the Education Department, but the agency will rely on the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division to investigate and resolve them.
“These agreements align federal responsibilities with the agencies best positioned to support them, strengthening the effectiveness and impact of critical services,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.
Officials insist that the agreements do not in any way alter federal protections and students with disabilities will not lose any rights, including their right to a free appropriate public education.
“Through this partnership, HHS and the Department of Education will cut bureaucratic barriers, better align federal resources, and deliver more effective support for individuals with disabilities and their families,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “Together, we will improve education and employment outcomes, uphold the rights of individuals with disabilities, and help every child reach their full potential.”
But, disability advocates warn that moving special education to HHS will weaken coordination with general education and it sends the wrong message.
“IDEA is an education law — not a health law — and moving it to the health department is more than a bureaucratic change; it segregates special education from K-12 programs and signals a move toward a medical model that views students as patients rather than as learners with strengths, potential and belonging,” said Chad Rummel, CEO of the Council for Exceptional Children. “No one can show us how the time, energy and resources needed to move special education to the health department will benefit children.”
Over a year ago, President Donald Trump announced that he would move “special needs” programs to HHS as part of a commitment to close the Education Department.
Without approval from Congress to shut down the department, however, McMahon has used IAAs as a workaround, allowing her to break apart the agency bit by bit. Before this week, the Education Department had already announced 10 IAAs under McMahon, but none focused on special education.
Though the IAAs for OSERS and OCR have been expected, disability advocates have been working for more than a year to push back against the plans. Now, Denise Marshall, CEO of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, or COPAA, a nonprofit that advocates for the rights of students with disabilities and their families, is calling on the Education Department to reverse what she called “illegal and harmful moves” and is urging Congress to step in.
“Without congressional action, the administration is adding bureaucratic layers for states and schools, obfuscating their role, and creating more confusion and chaos that jeopardizes every child’s right to a free appropriate education,” Marshall said. “All these actions unnecessarily complicate and delay access to the civil and education rights protections that the department is obligated to fulfill.”
