Education agency changes hurt disability rights process, families say

Key Points:

• The U.S. Department of Education is transferring civil rights enforcement in schools to the Department of Justice and special education oversight to the Department of Health and Human Services, fulfilling a Trump-era initiative to dismantle the Education Department’s role in these areas.
• Parents and advocates express concern that these changes will exacerbate existing delays and inefficiencies in handling complaints of bullying and discrimination against children with disabilities, as the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights has been backlogged and understaffed since 2017.
• Disability rights advocates argue that placing special education under a health-focused agency is inappropriate, as it treats disabilities as medical conditions rather than learning differences, and some lawmakers plan to pursue legislation to keep special education within the Education Department or move it to the Labor Department instead.
• Many families and attorneys are increasingly turning to state-level systems to address special education and discrimination complaints due to federal backlogs, with some states expanding their authority to handle cases traditionally managed by federal agencies.
• Education Department staff report operational challenges following the transfer of functions to other agencies, while advocates worry that fragmented oversight across multiple departments could lead to gaps in services for children with disabilities.