Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced plans to move the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The Arc of the United States warns that the move disregards federal law placing the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) in the Department of Education and would make it harder for students with disabilities to access services, resolve discrimination, and hold states accountable under IDEA, the 50-year-old law that guarantees a free appropriate public education tailored to each child’s unique needs.

This plan follows interagency agreements announced in November 2025 that began shifting major Education Department programs to other federal agencies. But these offices are supposed to work together. Students with disabilities need access to school, special education services, accommodations, accessibility, and civil rights enforcement under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Moving that work across separate departments risks more confusion, longer delays, and less accountability for families and schools.

The Education Department says OSERS and OCR will keep their legal responsibilities and continue their work without interruption. Calling this a partnership doesn’t change what’s happening: core education and civil rights functions would be moved into agencies that weren’t created to oversee schools, special education, or education-based civil rights enforcement.

“Students with disabilities don’t experience school in agency silos,” said Katy Neas, CEO of The Arc of the United States and former Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Assistant Secretary in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services at the U.S. Department of Education. “A student who is denied services, disciplined for disability-related needs, or blocked from an accessible classroom needs one federal education system that can see the whole picture and act. Moving special education to HHS and civil rights enforcement to DOJ would split apart the offices responsible for making disability rights real in schools, leaving families chasing answers across the federal government instead of getting accountability from one education agency.”

“HHS and DOJ have important roles, but they weren’t built to replace the Department of Education’s school-specific expertise,” said Robyn Linscott, Director of Education and Family Policy at The Arc of the United States. “Moving IDEA oversight into HHS pushes students with disabilities toward a medical model, where disability is treated as a diagnosis to manage instead of a natural part of human life. When that mindset drives education decisions, students are more likely to be segregated, underestimated, or treated as separate from the school community. IDEA belongs in an education agency because it is about classrooms, IEP meetings, behavior support, accessibility, and whether students can learn alongside their peers.”

Why OSERS and OCR belong inside the Education Department

OSERS has two primary components: the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA). OSERS oversees federal programs that shape the school experience for students with disabilities and help students move from school to work and community life. It distributes federal special education funding, provides guidance to states and schools, supports teacher training, funds research on effective instruction, and helps ensure students receive the services they are legally entitled to receive.

OCR investigates discrimination in schools, including disability discrimination involving accommodations, accessibility, harassment, restraint and seclusion, and discriminatory discipline. For many families, OCR is one of the few ways to seek federal enforcement without going straight to court.

Why IDEA belongs in an education agency

IDEA is an education and civil rights law. It was created because children with disabilities were excluded from public schools, denied instruction, or sent to institutions instead of being educated in their communities.

Moving IDEA oversight into the Department of Health and Human Services risks changing how the federal government understands and responds to students with disabilities. Instead of focusing on classroom access, instruction, inclusion, services, and school accountability, it could push decisions toward diagnosis, treatment, and care management. Students with disabilities may need health care and related services, but they are students first.

That distinction matters. A medical model can lead to lower expectations, more segregation, and decisions based on diagnosis instead of what a student needs to learn and participate in school. IDEA’s promise depends on schools seeing students with disabilities as full members of the school community. That work must stay connected to the federal education systems that guide schools, support educators, and hold states accountable.

What this could mean for families

Families already spend months, sometimes years, trying to get schools to follow the law. Splitting special education and civil rights enforcement across agencies could add another layer of confusion when students can’t afford to wait.

For families of students with disabilities, this could mean:

• More confusion about where to go when a child is denied services or accommodations
• Longer delays when a student is missing instruction, therapies, supports, or accessible materials
• Less coordination between special education oversight and civil rights enforcement
• More barriers when a student faces harassment, exclusion, restraint, seclusion, or discriminatory discipline

A student’s education shouldn’t depend on whether their family can figure out which federal agency now owns which piece of the law.

What this could mean for schools and states

Schools and state education agencies need clear, consistent federal guidance. Moving OSERS to HHS and OCR to DOJ could make it harder for states and districts to understand expectations and resolve problems early. This plan could lead to:

• Conflicting guidance from different federal agencies
• Slower answers on IDEA and Section 504 questions
• Less coordination between funding, technical assistance, and enforcement
• More uneven implementation across states
• Greater risk that families in different places receive different levels of protection

Federal disability rights shouldn’t depend on a student’s ZIP code or on which agency happens to hold part of the responsibility.

Students can’t get back lost learning time

The Department of Education’s special education and civil rights offices have been weakened by staff cuts, office closures, and delays in enforcement. Recent reports and staffing changes have shown what happens when federal capacity shrinks: complaints take longer, guidance becomes less clear, and families are left wondering whether anyone is responsible for enforcing the law.

When a student with a disability goes without the services, accommodations, accessible materials, instruction, or behavior supports they need, the impact can last a lifetime, shaping whether they graduate, continue their education, find work, participate in their community, and feel like school is a place they belong.

Moving these offices out of the Department of Education would deepen that instability at the exact moment students, families, schools, and states need clarity. The rights in IDEA and Section 504 haven’t changed, but rights are only as strong as the systems that enforce them.

Why The Arc is taking action

The Arc has fought for the education rights of students with disabilities for decades. Our advocacy helped lay the groundwork for IDEA, and we have worked ever since to protect and strengthen the systems that make that law real for students and families.

The Arc is also a plaintiff in Somerville Public Schools et al. v. Trump et al., a federal lawsuit challenging efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. We joined that case because weakening federal education capacity threatens special education oversight, civil rights enforcement, and the ability of students with disabilities to access the education federal law promises them.

The Arc’s policy and legal advocacy teams continue to meet with policymakers and education officials to protect IDEA, Section 504, and the federal infrastructure students with disabilities rely on.

We urge Congress to step in immediately, assert its constitutional role over federal agencies, and keep critical education and civil rights programs where the law says they belong. Students’ rights may remain in statute, but those rights are only meaningful when families can access the systems that enforce them.

For reporters: interview availability

The Arc can connect reporters with national policy experts who can explain the impact of this decision on students with disabilities nationwide.

Robyn Linscott, Director of Education and Family Policy at The Arc of the United States, is available for interviews on what this move means for students with disabilities, families, schools, IDEA, Section 504, and federal civil rights enforcement.

Katy Neas, CEO of The Arc of the United States and former Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Assistant Secretary in OSERS, is also available for interviews on the history and federal role of special education oversight.

More on the dismantling of the Department of Education

• Why moving IDEA to HHS could harm students with disabilities
• HELP Committee report finds OCR reached a 12-year low in enforceable relief for students facing discrimination
• GAO report finds Education Department civil rights enforcement collapsing as disability complaints go unreviewed
• Federal special education offices hollowed out, putting students’ rights at risk
• The Arc’s statement on dismantling the U.S. Department of Education