The Trump administration announced the latest move in its effort to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education: Moving oversight and administration of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The Department also announced it will move the Office of Civil Rights to the Department of Justice, which will exacerbate the backlog of civil rights complaints requiring investigation and adjudication, and it will likely weaken the enforcement of civil rights laws protecting students. 

These actions undercut the Department of Education’s stated mission to coordinate and administer critical programs that schools and families rely on to support children and youth. This could jeopardize educational equity and opportunity for countless students with disabilities throughout the United States and disregards the law’s clear mandate that the Department of Education must maintain these responsibilities. Our nation’s youth rely on a fully empowered federal Department of Education to protect their rights, and they deserve a swift response from their elected representatives.

Join NASP in calling on Congress to exercise its oversight authority and urgently pass legislation that will prohibit moving these functions out of the Department of Education, where they belong under the law.