Families of kids with disabilities are warning that changes to the Education Department could lead to more chaos and roadblocks in an already flawed system. The Department of Justice will take over civil rights enforcement in schools, and the Department of Health and Human Services will oversee special education.

Concerns Over Special Education

Advocates are concerned that special education doesn’t belong in a health department, which usually treats disabilities as conditions to manage, instead of differences in how children learn. The top Republican on the Senate education committee agrees, saying he’d pursue legislation to keep special education out of Health and Human Services.

Some families are already taking discrimination cases elsewhere, as the Education Department’s civil rights office had long been the last resort for parents who believe their child is facing discrimination at school. The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services has shrunk by roughly a third since 2024, and the Office for Civil Rights is roughly 40% smaller.

State-Level Solutions

In response to the federal backlog, some states are pushing for new laws to expand the types of civil rights cases state education officials can pursue. For example, Colorado recently signed a law allowing the state to pursue cases involving allegations of discrimination and harassment.

Families spend an inordinate amount of time navigating systems that should be working together to serve children, but often aren’t. What matters to parents is whether they can get the services their children need, said Rob Harris, an IEP advocate in Colorado.

Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.