The Trump administration on Tuesday announced the transfer of two of the Education Department’s major offices — the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) — to the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services, respectively. The move is the latest step in President Donald Trump’s campaign to dismantle the department, leaving it with a shrinking set of responsibilities.
The Office for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services manages programs that support students with disabilities, offering guidance and oversight to ensure states follow the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a federal law that guarantees disabled students access to an equitable public education. The Office for Civil Rights employs civil rights attorneys who investigate and enforce protections against discrimination in K-12 schools and universities based on disability, gender, race, and national origin. OCR has been in turmoil for months, targeted repeatedly by the administration for staff cuts that were later reversed.
In a letter obtained by NPR, Kim Richey, the Education Department’s assistant secretary for civil rights, and Kim Rogers, the acting assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitative services, said the shifts are part of the administration’s commitment to end what they described as micromanagement. “With this in mind, and after careful consideration, OSERS will be partnering with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to support the administration of programs for infants, toddlers, children, students and individuals with disabilities,” they wrote. “Likewise, the Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) will partner with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to strengthen enforcement of federal civil rights laws.”
The administration described the moves as better serving vulnerable populations. But disability rights advocates expressed alarm. Denise Forte, president and CEO of Ed Trust, a think tank focused on education equity, said: “This is another vindictive attempt to undermine public education. And at this moment, when we know that children with disabilities need more support, not less — HHS is not the place for that.”
Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who is leading the effort to dismantle the agency she runs, has characterized the work as “peel[ing] back the layers of federal bureaucracy by partnering with agencies that are better suited to manage programs and empowering states and local leaders to oversee the rest.”
The moves to HHS and DOJ would further dismantle an agency that President Donald Trump has vowed to close, leaving the Education Department with a shrinking number of responsibilities.