{"id":470,"date":"2026-06-16T22:05:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T22:05:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=470"},"modified":"2026-06-16T22:05:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T22:05:15","slug":"special-ed-civil-rights-to-be-shifted-out-of-trumps-shrinking-department-of-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=470","title":{"rendered":"Special ed, civil rights to be shifted out of Trump\u2019s shrinking Department of Education"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. Department of Education announced sweeping efforts Tuesday to outsource its special education programs and civil rights enforcement to other agencies, in another major step by President Donald Trump\u2019s administration to dismantle the department.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=468\">Local election officials reel over \u2018logistical nightmare\u2019 of Trump\u2019s vote-by-mail order<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Department of Health and Human Services will administer programs under the Education Department\u2019s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, or OSERS, while civil rights enforcement under Education\u2019s Office for Civil Rights, or OCR, will be transferred to the Department of Justice.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The move follows 10\u00a0earlier interagency agreements, or IAAs, with the departments of Labor,\u00a0Health and Human Services, Interior, State and\u00a0Treasury that transfer several of Education\u2019s responsibilities to those agencies.<\/p>\n<p>The Education Department clarified in fact sheets that in the agreements announced Tuesday, it \u201cwill continue to perform all statutorily required duties and responsibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>New student loan limits challenged by Democratic attorneys general, governors in lawsuit<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"QP9Y1FmVmG\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"282\" marginheight=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" scrolling=\"no\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/ncnewsline.com\/2026\/05\/22\/repub\/new-student-loan-limits-challenged-by-democratic-attorneys-general-governors-in-lawsuit\/embed\/#?secret=05zkpIkR44#?secret=QP9Y1FmVmG\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201cNew student loan limits challenged by Democratic attorneys general, governors in lawsuit\u201d \u2014 NC Newsline\" width=\"500\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Trump Administration has been clear: 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,\u201d U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>The administration has sought to do away with the 46-year-old department as part of Trump\u2019s quest to return education \u201cback to the states.\u201d That push continues despite much of the oversight and funding of schools already occurring at the state and local levels.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Congress created the Department of Education, and only Congress has the authority to abolish the agency.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h4>Special education<\/h4>\n<p>On a background call with reporters, a senior department official said OSERS \u201cwill maintain its independent statutory functions without interruption to vigorously enforce compliance with all of OSERS programs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>OSERS is responsible for administering the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, which guarantees a free public education for students with disabilities. The\u00a0umbrella unit OSERS includes the Office of the Assistant Secretary, Office of Special Education Programs and the Rehabilitation Services Administration.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The official added that \u201cstudents will not lose any rights, including their right to a free appropriate public education,\u201d adding that \u201cno agreement can alter the rights that students with disabilities are afforded under federal law.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn coordination with and at the direction of OSERS, HHS will support meaningful stakeholder outreach; grant administration; enforcement, compliance, and monitoring activities; annual performance determinations and assessments; collection, reporting, and analyzing of data for monitoring compliance; and drawdowns of Federal funds,\u201d according to a\u00a0.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h4>Civil rights oversight<\/h4>\n<p>Meanwhile, Education\u2019s agreement with the DOJ is intended to \u201csupport and bolster the federal government\u2019s enforcement of federal civil rights laws,\u201d a senior department official said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Education Department\u2019s Office for Civil Rights, or OCR, is tasked with investigating civil rights complaints from students and families.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=466\">Senate committee advances \u2018Truth in Taxation\u2019 bill<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Under the agreement, \u201cOCR will utilize the Civil Rights Division to evaluate, investigate and resolve complaints filed under the laws enforced by OCR,\u201d the official said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The official also stressed that under the interagency agreement, OCR \u201cretains management and leadership of OCR in accordance with federal law.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Education will also partner with the DOJ on student privacy protection, in which the Justice Department will \u201creview complaints alleging privacy act violations, conduct necessary investigations and recommend potential resolutions,\u201d per a\u00a0.<\/p>\n<p>In another agreement, the DOJ will \u201cprovide technical assistance\u201d in training and advisory services regarding the desegregation of public schools, according to a\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<h4>\u2018This isn\u2019t efficiency \u2014 it\u2019s chaos\u2019<\/h4>\n<p>The announcement sparked fierce condemnation from Democratic members of Congress, labor unions and advocacy groups Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Rachel Gittleman, president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 252, the union representing Education Department workers, said the interagency agreements regarding special ed programs and civil rights enforcement \u201cwill leave our most vulnerable students and families who have been shut out of our education system without the services they need and without protection when they face discrimination,\u201d in a Tuesday statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis isn\u2019t efficiency \u2014 it\u2019s chaos,\u201d Gittleman added. \u201cSecretary McMahon is yet again targeting historically underserved students, eroding public trust, and sowing dysfunction for the federal employees who are trying to do their jobs on behalf of the public.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>U.S. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said that \u201cinstead of helping kids get a great education, this administration is spending its time, energy, and taxpayer resources fixated on where employees sit and illegally trying to shutter the Department of Education,\u201d in a Tuesday statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s an outrageous betrayal that undoes decades of hard-won progress for students,\u201d Murray added. \u201cMore kids with disabilities will be denied the education they are entitled to by law, and more college students who were harassed or assaulted will go without the justice they are owed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, one of the largest teachers unions in the country, said the decision \u201cwill have dire, real-world consequences.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCongress \u2014 the only body that can legally take such actions \u2014 has refused to follow the whims of the White House when it comes to abolishing the Education Department,\u201d Weingarten said. \u201cAnd parents, educators, students, and the disability and civil rights communities are rising up \u2014 and will fight in every way possible to reverse this in the courts, at the ballot box and in the court of public opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=465\">Supreme Court agrees to weigh in on case over rights of some in \u2018prolonged\u2019 ICE detention<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. Department of Education announced sweeping efforts Tuesday to outsource its special education programs and civil rights enforcement to other agencies, in another major step by President Donald Trump\u2019s administration to dismantle the department.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":469,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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