WASHINGTON \u2014 President Donald Trump\u2019s administration on Tuesday accelerated its dismantling of the Education Department, delegating much of its work to protect the nation\u2019s at-risk students in a move that carves away the vast majority of its functions for other agencies to handle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Department of Justice will take on enforcement of civil rights in education, while the Department of Health and Human Services will oversee special education, administration officials announced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two agencies involved \u2014 the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services and the Office for Civil Rights \u2014 defend the rights of children with disabilities and those who experience discrimination based on race, sex or religion. Advocates worry the change could mean lapses in communication for families and school officials who need help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump, a Republican, campaigned on shutting down the Education Department, saying he would \u201cmove education back to the states where it belongs.\u201d While only Congress can close the department, Trump\u2019s education secretary, Linda McMahon, a billionaire and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, has formed agreements with other federal agencies to handle much of her department\u2019s work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
McMahon said the agreements align federal responsibilities with the agencies best positioned to support them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe 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,\u201d McMahon said in a written statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Critics warn of impacts to student services<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Advocates said the changes would create uncertainty around services relied upon by millions of students and families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs is too often the case, traditionally underserved students \u2014 including students with disabilities, Black and Latino students, multilingual learners, students from low-income backgrounds, and students in rural communities \u2014 will bear the greatest burden created by this reckless decision, to which the disability and civil rights communities have already been vehemently opposed,\u201d said a written statement from EdTrust, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that advocates for educational equity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Education Department already has offloaded some of its programs through 10 earlier internal agreements, but the agencies affected by Tuesday\u2019s announcement were among the most closely watched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services manages billions of dollars in grants and oversees state compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The Office for Civil Rights, which has been thinned by mass layoffs, investigates complaints of discrimination at the nation\u2019s schools and universities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Department of Justice also will take over work protecting student privacy and will provide some training and advisory help to schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While HHS and the Department of Justice will take over most day-to-day duties of the assigned offices, the Education Department will continue to perform some tasks, such as responding to audits and issuing final determinations in civil rights cases, that it is explicitly required to do by law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, said the announcement Tuesday was a political one intended to fulfill the president\u2019s campaign promise. The changes, he said, will likely widen inequities for students of color and students with disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The agreements are scattering education programs to agencies that do not have the expertise to manage them, said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cInstead 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,\u201d Murray said in a written statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rachel Gittleman, president of the union that represents department employees, said the moves will create chaos for families, students and schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis will leave our most vulnerable students and families who have been shut out of our education system without the services they need and without protection when they face discrimination,\u201d Gittleman said in a written statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Families of students with disabilities opposed the decision<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The transfer of special education to Health and Human Services most alarmed disability advocates, who say oversight of whether schools are adequately serving children with disabilities is best handled by education experts \u2014 not medical experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe IDEA is intended to equip students as they learn alongside their peers, not cure them \u2014 the HHS is not prepared to oversee and administer the IDEA program effectively. Health and education systems speak in entirely different languages, including variations in terminology, training and disciplines,\u201d said Jennifer Coco, interim executive director of the Center for Learner Equity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Education Department said McMahon spent over six months in listening sessions with families, advocates and educators to better understand concerns around how the department\u2019s dismantling could affect special education. Many families raised concerns about obstacles to obtaining proper services for their children, but Coco said participants in those sessions were united in their opposition to moving special education oversight out of the Education Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think we agree on the problem,\u201d Coco said. \u201cWe have stark disagreement on the solution, and these transfers today don\u2019t feel like a solution to that problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n