Trump Moves Special Education, Civil Rights Oversight Out of Ed Dept.

The Trump administration has transferred oversight of special education to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and civil rights enforcement in education to the Department of Justice (DOJ), according to multiple reports. This move is part of a broader effort by Education Secretary Linda McMahon to reduce federal bureaucracy and align responsibilities with agencies better positioned to support them.

The transfer affects two key offices: Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, which manages billions in grants and oversees state compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the Office for Civil Rights, which investigates complaints of discrimination at schools and universities. The DOJ will also take over work protecting student privacy and providing training to schools.

The administration is framing these moves as a partnership between federal agencies intended to reduce bureaucracy. However, advocacy groups warn that this shift could create uncertainty around services relied upon by millions of students and families. EdTrust, a think tank advocating for educational equity, stated that traditionally underserved students—including those with disabilities, Black and Latino students, multilingual learners, low-income backgrounds, and rural communities—will bear the greatest burden from this decision.

Disability rights advocates express concern that HHS lacks the expertise to effectively oversee special education programs. Jennifer Coco, interim executive director of the Center for Learner Equity, noted that health and education systems operate in entirely different languages, including variations in terminology, training, and disciplines. The Education Department will continue to perform some tasks, such as responding to audits and issuing final determinations in civil rights cases.

The Trump administration has used the Office for Civil Rights to enforce its views on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Some schools and colleges have closed DEI offices and abandoned efforts to close achievement gaps between white students and their Black and Latino peers. The office has also enforced the administration’s efforts to push transgender athletes out of sports.

The Education Department's special education office ensures states comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which guarantees access to education for disabled students. It also supports special vocational programs and career counseling for young people with disabilities. The office once employed about 200 people and now employs about 121.

The administration has been handing off various operations through a series of interagency agreements. Work that’s already been reassigned includes Title I funding for schools serving low-income communities, as well as smaller funding pools for teacher training, English instruction, and a college-access program known as TRIO. These programs are now at the Labor Department.

The federal student loan portfolio is being handed over to the Treasury Department in phases. The Department of Health and Human Services took grant programs related to safety, community engagement, and parents attending college, plus foreign medical school accreditation. Foreign language programs and a portal that tracks foreign gifts to universities have gone to the State Department. And the Interior Department is now overseeing Native American education.

The Education Department's biggest functions are effectively reassigned, leaving what remains as a skeleton of its former self. Functions still at the department include research arms like the Institute of Education Sciences and the National Center for Education Statistics. The Office of the Education Secretary remains intact, including her staff who’ve been executing agreements with other agencies.

A Trump administration fact sheet promises that this partnership will not impact students, parents, or families who believe they have experienced discrimination. However, advocates worry the movement of key functions to other agencies will complicate the process for enforcing disability and civil rights. Currently, if a student with a disability is denied school accommodations, their parents can often appeal to a single federal agency—the Education Department—to handle the violation. Now, parents might have to navigate multiple bureaucratic systems to get answers.

The office has had a case backlog, which started before Trump took office but has grown during his presidency. In April, a report from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) found the Office for Civil Rights had reached zero resolution agreements since March 2025 over sexual harassment, sexual violence, seclusion and restraint, racial harassment or discriminatory school discipline. The report also found more than 2,700 pending cases in those categories.