Trump Moves Special Education and Civil Rights Out of Education Dept.

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced on Tuesday a major escalation in its dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education, transferring oversight of special education programs to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and moving civil rights enforcement in education to the Department of Justice (DOJ). The moves, executed through interagency agreements without congressional approval, affect two of the department’s most critical functions and have drawn sharp criticism from advocacy groups, Democratic lawmakers, and disability rights organizations.

Background

Congress created the Department of Education in 1979, and the landmark Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), originally passed in 1975, guarantees students with disabilities the right to a free and appropriate public education. Federal law explicitly requires that the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) exist within the Education Department. The Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which investigates discrimination complaints in schools and universities, has been a cornerstone of federal education oversight for decades.

President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to close the Education Department, and Tuesday’s announcement represents the most significant step yet toward fulfilling that pledge. According to AP News, the changes align with the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 blueprint, which explicitly calls for moving special education to HHS and civil rights enforcement to the DOJ.

What Changed

Under the new interagency agreements, OSERS — which manages billions of dollars in grants and oversees state compliance with IDEA — will transfer to HHS, led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The Office for Civil Rights will move to the Department of Justice. These are the 11th and 12th such agreements the administration has used to offload Education Department functions, following earlier transfers of K-12 programming to the Labor Department and other responsibilities to the Treasury.

The administration argued the changes will improve efficiency. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement: “The 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.” The administration also announced plans to increase special education funding by roughly $500 million, though it remains unclear whether Congress will approve the increase.

Concerns Over Expertise and Legal Authority

Critics warn that the transfers could disrupt services for millions of students. Jennifer Coco, interim executive director of the Center for Learner Equity, told AP News: “The IDEA is intended to equip students as they learn alongside their peers, not cure them — the HHS is not prepared to oversee and administer the IDEA program effectively.”

Denise Marshall, CEO of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, expressed similar concerns to NPR: “There is no logical sense why anyone would move [students with disabilities] under HHS. We’re not going to all of a sudden go to our surgeon to learn how to read.”

Catherine Lhamon, who ran OCR under Presidents Obama and Biden, called moving civil rights enforcement to the Justice Department “a terrible idea,” telling NPR that DOJ has “no interest and no expertise in doing the kind of work that OCR does.”

Legal questions also loom. Federal law requires OSERS to exist within the Education Department, and recent budget laws give control of IDEA funds to the department. By using interagency agreements rather than seeking congressional approval, the administration is testing the limits of executive authority. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) called the moves “illegal,” saying in a statement: “Instead 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.”

A Divided Response

Not all former officials oppose the changes. Kenneth Marcus, who ran OCR during the first Trump administration, offered cautious optimism, telling NPR: “Much will depend on implementation… but if done right, this could mark a critical step forward for students whose rights have gone unprotected on campuses across the country.”

However, the OCR has already been significantly weakened. The office has been thinned by mass layoffs, with 7 of its 12 regional offices closed. According to Chalkbeat, the office received more than 9,000 discrimination complaints between March 2024 and September 2025 but resolved 90% of cases through dismissal.

Lindsey Burke, the lead author of Project 2025’s education chapter, now works as a top official at the Education Department, helping guide its dismantling from within. “Downsizing this agency and returning education to the states achieves a long-standing goal to empower families and local communities,” Burke said during a Chalkbeat event earlier this year.

What to Watch For

The practical impact on families and schools remains uncertain. Key questions include how staff transitions will be handled, whether Congress will take legislative action to block the changes, and whether legal challenges will emerge regarding the circumvention of Congress. Advocacy groups have vowed to fight the moves, and the coming weeks are likely to see both legal and political battles over the future of federal education policy.

For now, the Education Department continues to exist as a legal entity — only Congress can formally abolish it — but its functions have been hollowed out to a degree unprecedented in the agency’s nearly 50-year history.