Special ed, civil rights oversight carved out of Education Department : NPR

Key Points:

• The Trump administration announced plans to move the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) from the Department of Education to the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to the Department of Justice, shifting key education responsibilities.
• OSERS oversees programs supporting students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, while OCR enforces protections against discrimination in K-12 and higher education.
• Education Secretary Linda McMahon stated the moves aim to strengthen services for individuals with disabilities and improve civil rights enforcement through better coordination with HHS and DOJ.
• Disability rights advocates and former OSERS staff expressed concern that these changes could weaken protections for students with disabilities and undermine public education oversight.
• The restructuring is part of the administration's broader effort to reduce federal bureaucracy by reallocating responsibilities to other agencies and increasing state and local control.