The US Department of Education has quietly agreed to shift six of its programs to other federal agencies. It may sound like a simple change of location, but it’s much more serious. For millions of students—including children with ADHD—this is a major step toward breaking apart and eventually closing the Department of Education. And when the very offices that protect the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 rights are threatened, the stability, equity, and protections our kids depend on begin to fall apart.
Students with ADHD rely on the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to ensure they receive services under the IDEA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
This is another giant step toward shutting down the Department of Education as promised in the March 2025 Executive Order 14242 “Improving Education Outcomes.”
When this executive order was issued, Education Secretary Linda McMahon suggested transferring the Office for Civil Rights to the Department of Justice, and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Across the Department of Education—especially in OSERS and OCR—major staff cuts have left them unable to do much of their work. These cuts are already weakening the department’s ability to do its job, even before any offices are moved to other agencies.
Moving these offices to other agencies puts important experience at risk.
When staff members are reassigned—or choose to leave their jobs—students and their families lose the people who know these programs inside and out. The agencies expected to take over don’t have staff with the training, experience, or a strong understanding of education law needed to handle these programs correctly. They will be handed significant new responsibilities without the time, background, or institutional knowledge to carry them out effectively. Splitting these offices across different federal agencies will break apart systems that are designed to work together. This puts essential services and civil rights protections at risk, especially for students with ADHD who rely on them every day.
The OSER and OCR offices within the DOE have not yet moved—there is still time for action to prevent these protections from crumbling! Without the safeguards these offices provide, students with ADHD are at risk of falling behind, facing discrimination, or being pushed out of the very systems meant to support them.
In addition to being extremely troubling, the transfer of Department of Education Offices without Congressional input is also unlawful.
These changes ignore a key legal requirement: Congress must approve any transfer of federal education programs. These interagency agreements bypass that requirement. Only Congress can authorize these changes.
Your voice can help keep OSERS and OCR where they belong and doing their job for our kids!
Tell your members of Congress to reverse these office moves and stop any future transfers. Tell them to protect the Department of Education and the safeguards on which students depend.
Our collective voice matters. When we stand together, we can make a difference for students and families who depend on IDEA and Section 504 protections.