For families of students with disabilities, it can be challenging to make sure their children get the support they need at school. Parents may spend countless hours navigating evaluations, attending meetings, following up on services, and advocating for their children’s rights.

When a school doesn’t follow the law, families need a clear path to get help. The U.S. Department of Education has long played an important role in that process by helping to oversee federal laws and programs that protect the rights of students with disabilities.

• The Department’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services 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.
• The Department’s Office for Civil Rights investigates discrimination in schools, including disability discrimination involving accommodations, accessibility, harassment, restraint and seclusion, and discriminatory discipline.

Changes to how the federal government carries out this work could make it harder for families to know where to turn when they need help.

Families Rely on Special Education Protections

Families like Betsy and Katie’s know firsthand how important federal protections are for students with disabilities. Both have spent years advocating for their children’s educational rights and making sure their children get the support they need to succeed in school.

Betsy’s daughter, Kayleigh, was blocked from attending her local public elementary school in kindergarten. After years of advocacy, Kayleigh is now thriving in general education with supports.

Betsy shared:

“Ever since our daughter was blocked from attending her local public elementary school in kindergarten, we have fought hard for her access to education, with the essential backstop of the Department of Education. Now, she’s thriving in general education with supports. We can’t afford more barriers or more agencies to navigate.”

Katie is the parent of three children with disabilities who rely on special education services, accommodations, therapies, and supports to succeed in school. She knows how difficult it can be for families when schools don’t follow the law:

“My children have different disabilities and different needs, but each of them depends on the protections provided by federal disability laws. We have spent countless hours advocating for their educational rights, and we know how difficult it can be when schools do not follow the law. Families should not have to guess which federal agency is responsible for protecting their child’s rights.”

Like many parents, Katie has worked hard to ensure her children receive the services they need and are entitled to under the law.

“Every day a child goes without the supports they need is a day of learning that cannot be replaced. My children are students first, not patients or cases to be managed. Their education, civil rights, and futures belong in the Department of Education. Families need a system that makes it easier, not harder, to ensure their children receive a free and appropriate public education.”

Take Action To Help Protect a Promise

Betsy and Katie’s stories remind us why strong federal protections matter. Special education is not about paperwork or bureaucracy. It’s about ensuring students with disabilities get the supports, opportunities, and protections they need to learn alongside their peers and reach their full potential. And families need a clear path to get help when those rights are not respected.

Take Action Today: Tell Congress to oppose moving special education and civil rights offices out of the Department of Education and protect the supports that students and families rely on every day.