Special ed and civil rights offices to shift out of Education Department

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The Education Department plans to move work overseeing special-education services and civil rights out of the agency, part of the Trump administration’s effort to close the department by moving all its functions to other parts of the government, the department said Tuesday.

The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, which oversees the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, will move to the Department of Health and Human Services. The Office for Civil Rights will move much of its work to the Justice Department.

They were two of the Education Department’s last major offices to outsource major functions, and the announcement signifies the progress the Trump administration has made toward its goal of closing the agency. The department remains open, but the effort has advanced far more than most observers predicted would be possible at the start of the administration.

Like other moves before them, both of Tuesday’s moves were controversial.

Disability rights advocacy groups had lobbied hard against moving special-education services, fearing that moving the office out of the Education Department will mean less federal oversight of the states and, ultimately, fewer students receiving needed and federally mandated services.

The Office for Civil Rights handles some of the agency’s most sensitive work, investigating complaints of discrimination based on race, sex and more, and opponents fear that dismantling its infrastructure will lead to inadequate enforcement.

The Education Department said these moves would contribute to its effort to “return education to the states.” But in a statement, Education Secretary Linda McMahon sought to also reassure parents and advocates who worry this will weaken the federal commitments ensuring that students with disabilities are properly served and that allegations of civil rights violations are investigated and addressed.

“As we scale back federal micromanagement when it hinders success, we are equally committed to bolstering the efficacy of federal oversight where it is essential,” McMahon said. “These agreements align federal responsibilities with the agencies best positioned to support them, strengthening the effectiveness and impact of critical services.”

Department officials said that the administration would continue to vigorously enforce education laws and that moving the offices does not change that commitment or their obligations.

The Office for Civil Rights is one of the highest-profile parts of the department. In past administrations, it has focused on complaints of racial discrimination against students of color and sexual assault allegations. The Trump administration has used the office to investigate and punish schools that allow transgender students to participate in athletics and that focus on students of color for special help.

Moving this work to the Justice Department is likely to be tricky, and a senior department official who briefed reporters said many of the details, including staffing, have yet to be determined. While the Justice Department’s civil rights division chooses what cases to pursue, the Education Department is obligated by law to investigate all complaints that it receives.

The senior official said that the Justice Department would evaluate and investigate complaints that come to the Education Department, and then the original Office for Civil Rights would determine whether to enter into voluntary enforcement agreements or refer cases back to the Justice Department for judicial enforcement. The agreement itself said that Justice would also work to reach resolutions, so it was not clear which would take the lead on that.

The official said the Education Department would continue to develop policy guidance and collect civil rights data from schools.

The Education Department has already moved several of its offices to other parts of the government, with many of the K-12 programs operating out of the Labor Department and parts of the Federal Student Aid office operating out of the Treasury Department under interagency agreements. These agreements allow Education to retain ultimate control of programs that Congress delegated to the department while functionally moving its operations and staff elsewhere.

McMahon had considered moving the special-education programs to the Labor Department in order to keep K-12 programs all in one place but ultimately settled on HHS. This means states and school districts will be required to work with three federal departments – Labor, HHS and, as long as it exists, Education – rather than just one.

President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to close the Education Department, a longtime conservative goal. He regularly promises to “return education to the states.”

But the Education Department was created by Congress and cannot be closed without congressional approval. There’s been no movement on legislation that would close the department, and people in both parties say there is not enough support to pass a bill if one were advanced.

Congress also has not stopped the administration from entering into these interagency agreements, though Democrats regularly criticize them.

“It makes zero sense to scatter federal education programs all over the government – with different agencies managing different educational programs and each of them lacking the expertise to do it,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington) said in a statement Tuesday.

Most of these office moves have attracted scant public attention, as they are largely bureaucratic, but the special-education community has rallied to try stopping the transfer of the offices that handle disability work. Advocates met with McMahon to press their case, but they said that they were told the move was happening and the only question was where the office would move.

“We have not seen what a proposed benefit of moving it out of the Department of Education would be,” said Chad Rummel, executive director of the Council for Exceptional Children. “They are making it move because it’s a campaign promise, not because it’s better for kids.”

He said parents and teachers have sent nearly 100,000 letters to members of Congress protesting the potential move, which the agency signaled was coming months ago.

McMahon said in an essay published by Fox News that listening sessions with parents revealed that too many have to fight for timely and appropriate services for their children.

“It should not require herculean effort to obtain what the law guarantees,” she said. “With federal law as the heavy anchor, our goal in this partnership is to break down the bureaucratic barriers and strengthen the coordination of resources to improve programs that serve infants, toddlers, children, and adults.”

When asked by a reporter how moving the office would improve special-education services, a senior department official cited the administration’s goal of closing the department. “The secretary has been very clear about the final mission of the U.S. Department of Education,” she said.

Kenneth L. Marcus, who ran the civil rights office during the first Trump administration, praised the change to his former post.

“OCR has long served as the federal government’s primary guardian of students’ civil rights,” he said in a statement.

“At the same time, the Justice Department possesses powerful investigative and litigation tools that can strengthen enforcement when institutions fail to comply with the law,” he said. “A more integrated approach could bring additional resources, greater consistency and stronger accountability to civil rights enforcement.”

But others voiced concern that the changes will undermine student protections.

“The illegal transfer of these offices that offer critical services is alarming,” said Shiwali Patel, senior director of education justice at the National Women’s Law Center. “With this move, the Trump administration would be systematically dismantling the Department of Education’s infrastructure that protects students’ civil rights and equal access to education, eroding protections for millions of students.”

Danielle Douglas-Gabriel covers the economics of higher education, writing about the financial policies that determine a student’s access to education and ability to complete a credential.

Laura Meckler covers national education issues. She previously reported on the White House, politics and immigration for the Wall Street Journal and health and social policy for the Associated Press.

Danielle Douglas-Gabriel contributed to this report.

This article has been updated.