Trump Sent Special Ed Oversight to HHS and School Civil Rights to DOJ

Trump Is Dismantling the Offices That Enforce Special Education Law

The Trump administration announced on June 16, 2026 that it is moving two federal offices that enforce the nation’s core special education protections out of the Department of Education. The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) will move to the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Office for Civil Rights, which handles disability and discrimination complaints in schools, will hand that work to the Department of Justice. The administration is carrying out the shift through four interagency agreements, part of its ongoing effort to dismantle the Education Department.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon has framed the reorganization as protecting students with disabilities. Advocates in Connecticut and nationally say the opposite is true.

“Assassination attempt.”

Connecticut special education advocates describing the Trump administration’s moves against OSERS and OCR, CT Mirror, June 17, 2026

What the Two Laws at Stake Actually Do

OSERS oversees enforcement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the federal law that guarantees students with disabilities the right to a free and appropriate public education with individualized support plans. OCR enforces Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which bars disability discrimination in any school receiving federal funding. Together, these two laws cover approximately 7.5 million students enrolled in special education services nationwide.

Moving OSERS to HHS severs it from the department responsible for K-12 education funding and oversight. States and school districts receive federal IDEA funding through the Education Department and report compliance to it. Placing enforcement at HHS breaks that chain of accountability.

Project 2025 Called for Exactly This

The reorganization mirrors proposals in Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation blueprint that called for transferring special education programs out of a standalone Education Department. The administration has followed that framework on teacher training, Title I funding oversight, and now disability rights enforcement. Connecticut advocates warn the structural move will weaken states’ ability to hold schools accountable, since federal enforcement and federal funding will now flow through separate agencies.

States like Connecticut, which have their own special education laws and funding structures, still depend on federal enforcement to backstop districts that fail to meet IEP requirements. Without a functioning OCR and OSERS, families’ primary avenue for filing complaints against non-compliant schools becomes uncertain.

What You Can Do Now

Call your U.S. senators at (202) 224-3121 and demand they oppose any restructuring of OSERS or OCR that removes those offices from a functional chain of special education accountability. Ask specifically: “Will you block the transfer of OSERS to HHS?”
Contact your state’s education department. Ask your state education commissioner what contingency plans exist if federal IDEA enforcement is disrupted. Find your state education agency at ed.gov/about/contacts/state.
File a public comment with HHS and the Education Department. The administration is required to accept public input on reorganization plans. The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) at copaa.org is coordinating formal responses and can help you submit one.
Contact your state legislators. Ask them to pass or strengthen state-level IDEA enforcement statutes that do not depend on federal OCR, so that families retain a complaint pathway even if federal enforcement is weakened. Your state legislative directory is at ncsl.org.