RFK Jr. is now in charge of helping some of the students he has publicly insulted

Key Points:

• The Department of Education announced plans to transfer responsibilities of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), raising concerns among disability rights advocates.
• OSERS supports competitive integrated employment for people with disabilities, but the transfer could undermine these services, especially under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has expressed controversial and harmful views about autism and disabilities.
• The move contradicts the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which mandates OSERS remain within the Department of Education, and echoes longstanding Republican efforts to diminish federal education oversight.
• Disability advocates warn that shifting IDEA provisions to HHS risks defining students by their disabilities rather than their rights, potentially reducing access to necessary services and protections.
• Kennedy's history of misinformation and biased statements about disabilities, along with proposed budget cuts to disability programs, have intensified fears that this restructuring will harm the rights and opportunities of people with disabilities.