Two major offices relocate under Trump's effort to reduce Education Department scope
The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it will move two of the Education Department's largest offices to other federal agencies, transferring responsibility for protecting students with disabilities and enforcing civil rights protections. The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) will move to the Department of Health and Human Services, while the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) will transfer to the Department of Justice.
OSERS manages federal programs supporting students with disabilities and ensures states comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the landmark law guaranteeing disabled students access to equitable public education. OCR's staff of civil rights attorneys currently protect students in K-12 schools and universities from discrimination based on disability, gender, race, and national origin.
What Education Secretary McMahon says the changes accomplish
In a statement, McMahon said the administration aims to "break down the bureaucratic barriers and strengthen the coordination of resources to improve programs that serve infants, toddlers, children and adults."
McMahon held listening sessions with over a thousand parents, educators, state special education directors, and advocates across the country. She said parents told her that despite IDEA's protections, families struggle to obtain timely and appropriate services, with many draining savings to supplement their child's education. "It should not require Herculean effort to obtain what the law guarantees," McMahon wrote.
Last month, the administration announced a new $144 million boost for states and local agencies for IDEA programs.
Disability advocates express concern about the relocations
Denise Forte, president and CEO of Ed Trust, a think tank focused on education equity, opposed the move. She called it "another vindictive attempt to undermine public education" and said HHS is not the appropriate home for special education oversight. "At this moment, when we know that children with disabilities need more support, not less — HHS is not the place for that," Forte said.
The relocations represent the latest step in the Trump administration's effort to reduce the Education Department's scope, part of President Donald Trump's stated goal to close the agency. McMahon has characterized the changes as "peeling back layers of federal bureaucracy by partnering with agencies better suited to manage programs." OCR has faced months of turbulence, with the Trump administration repeatedly targeting it for staff cuts before reversing those decisions.
McMahon emphasized that IDEA predates the Education Department and will continue to exist regardless of which agency administers it. She stated that OSERS and OCR will maintain their independent statutory functions without interruption and will continue to enforce federal law to ensure states and schools comply with civil rights protections for students with disabilities.
