Disability, Education, and Civil Rights Partners Support the Bipartisan Bill that Prohibits Move of Special Education Programs

This week’s markup of key bills that protect the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) from the harmful transfer proposed by the Administration recognizes what disability advocates, families, and educators have been saying all along: moving OSERS is a mistake. While we appreciate Chairman Cassidy’s acknowledgment of the issue and his willingness to act, the Special Education Administration Protect Act (S. 5038) falls short of providing the protections students with disabilities urgently need. The bill would not prevent the Administration from relocating OSERS to another federal agency, leaving the office—and the millions of children and families who rely on it—vulnerable to disruption and uncertainty. Because this bill fails to meet that standard, we cannot support it. 

We do support S. 5046, a bipartisan bill that explicitly prohibits the Administration from transferring four ED offices—the Office of Indian Education, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), and the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE)—out of the U.S. Department of Education (ED). More than 8 million children with disabilities are counting on Congress to safeguard their rights and access to services. Congress must enact a clear and unequivocal prohibition on any effort to move OSERS outside the Department of Education. We also call on Congress to protect the Office for Civil Rights and all other education programs from transfers out of ED.