UPDATE 11/18/2025: On November 18, 2025, the White House announced that they are transferring important education programs out of the Department of Education to other federal agencies. Among other offices being relocated, many Office of Elementary and Secondary Education programs, along with much of the work of the Office of Postsecondary Education, will be moved to the Department of Labor. We also hear from reliable sources that Interagency Agreements to transfer the Office of Special Education Programs to the Department of Health & Human Services, to send the Rehabilitation Services Administration to the Department of Labor, and to transfer the Office of Civil Rights to the Department of Justice will be signed imminently. Dispersing the Department of Education's core functions - especially those responsible for special education and civil rights - will be particularly harmful to students with disabilities.
On October 10, 2025, the Administration informed 95% of the US Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) that their jobs would be eliminated, adding to the firings that occurred in March 2025. Additional key offices within the Department were also gutted, including the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), and the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE). Although the government shutdown has ended and these terminations have been suspended through January 30, 2026, the Administration has made clear its intention to dismantle the Department of Education, and its latest actions further this intended outcome.
We urge Congress to hold bipartisan oversight hearings to address the devastating consequences that these moves will have on all students, especially students with disabilities.
Why This Matters:
The Department of Education was established by law in the Department of Education Organization Act in 1979 to ensure that every student in the nation has access to a high-quality education and to provide consistent, coordinated federal oversight of the implementation of the nation’s education laws. The Department of Education administers major K-12 and higher education laws; enforces civil rights protections; distributes and monitors billions in federal education funding; and provides states with guidance, technical assistance, and accountability systems that guarantee students receive the services and supports they are entitled to under federal law.
Dispersing these responsibilities across multiple agencies undermines the coherent, integrated structure Congress created. Education policy is inherently interconnected: general education, civil rights enforcement, accountability, teacher quality, special education, early intervention, workplace preparation, and higher education all rely on coordinated oversight, shared data systems, and unified enforcement mechanisms. Fragmenting these functions violates Congressional intent, and it creates conflicting guidance and oversight with different agencies applying inconsistent standards, timelines, and interpretations of educational requirements. It will also weaken enforcement of students’ civil rights, reduce accountability of states and districts, and eliminate the essential integration of special education with general education, replacing a cohesive education system with a scattered patchwork of disconnected health, labor, or social services frameworks.
Don't Turn Back the Clock!
Before IDEA passed 50 years ago, over one million children with disabilities were excluded from school – they sat at home or in institutions, and many states prohibited them from going to school. While the current education system needs improvement, we have made great progress with longstanding support from both Republicans and Democrats for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The Department of Education’s unified structure is not a bureaucratic convenience – it is a legal and functional necessity to implement and enforce education laws, including IDEA. Splitting it apart erodes protections for millions of students, disrupts services, and dismantles the federal government’s ability to ensure equal access to education nationwide.
It is essential that Congress hold bipartisan oversight hearings to hear directly from state education officials, civil rights experts, and families to fully understand the legal, fiscal, and operational impacts of dispersing the Department of Education’s functions. Students and families deserve transparent, bipartisan hearings to protect education for all.
#ProtectChildrenWithDisabilities #FiveAlarmFire #ProtectIDEA #Disability #ProtectSpecialEducation #DownSyndrome #DontTurnBackTheClock