On June 16, 2026, the Trump administration announced the latest in a series of reckless moves to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), confirming that it will offload two critical agencies within the DOE to other parts of the federal government.

The two agencies – the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) – defend the rights of students with disabilities, students of color, and LGBTQIA+ students, among others.

Following this week’s announcement, OSERS, which oversees roughly $15 billion in federal funding that supports students with disabilities across the country, will now be housed under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, an agency currently seeking evidence to support the inaccurate claim that vaccines cause Autism. OCR, which this administration had previously decimated through staffing cuts, will be shuffled to the Department of Justice (DOJ), a move which is concerning for many Californians whose school districts are already being investigated by DOJ for measures undertaken to protect transgender students.

These changes are part of a broader and deeply troubling restructuring in which key education functions have already been scattered across multiple federal agencies. Many K-12 education programs are now operating out of the Department of Labor, while portions of the Federal Student Aid office have been moved to the Treasury Department through interagency agreements. Although the DOE technically retains legal authority over these programs, in practice this fragmentation shifts operations and staff out of the agency and erodes coherent oversight and accountability.

As a result of these moves, states and school districts will now be forced to navigate relationships with at least three separate federal departments—Labor, HHS, and Education—instead of a single, dedicated agency. This unnecessary complexity will create confusion, delays, and barriers to accessing critical funding, guidance, and enforcement.

DRC strongly condemns these disruptive changes. By dismantling and dispersing core education funds, the administration is destabilizing and further weakening two key institutions that are tasked with oversight of our public schools and enforcement of federal laws that ensure students can access their education without discrimination on the basis of disability, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, and other protected categories.

The impact will be felt by students nationwide, but the harm will fall most heavily on our most vulnerable students, including the 7.4 million students with disabilities across the country. In California alone, more than 827,000 of the state’s approximately 6 million K-12 students are students with disabilities, representing nearly 14% of all students in CA.

The hollowing out and fragmentation of IDEA oversight and accountability, as well as further diminishing the protections against discrimination DRC constituents depend upon, places the supports and services these students crucially depend on in jeopardy. Students, their families, and advocates in California depend on the resources and oversight that OSERS and OCR provide, and should continue receiving streamlined, accessible support from their federal government. Students with disabilities and their families deserve a strong, centralized federal partner—not a confusing patchwork of agencies that dilutes responsibility and undermines their rights.

Media Contact

Sam Mickens
Director of Communications
(646) 945-0918
Sam.Mickens@disabilityrightsca.org

Disability Rights California (DRC) – Is the agency designated under federal law to protect and advocate for the rights of Californians with disabilities. The mission of DRC is to defend, advance, and strengthen the rights and opportunities of people with disabilities.