BroadFutures CEO’s Statement Opposing the Transfer of Special Education Offices from the Department of Education
BroadFutures strongly opposes the Administration’s decision to transfer key special education offices (the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR)) from the Department of Education to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). These offices are essential to fulfilling the promise of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a landmark civil rights law that has transformed the lives of students with disabilities for more than 50 years.
Moving OSERS and OCR out of the Department of Education would weaken protections for students with disabilities, invite unequal treatment, and undermine the federal government’s ability to ensure compliance with IDEA. Transferring OSERS to HHS incorrectly frames disability as a healthcare issue rather than an educational and civil rights matter. HHS is neither structured nor equipped to oversee education policy or safeguard the educational rights of students with disabilities. This move risks stigmatizing disabled students, creating barriers to effective interagency coordination, and potentially violating federal law. Students with disabilities deserve protections administered by experts in education policy, where special education rightfully belongs.
OSERS plays a critical role in ensuring that IDEA is implemented effectively in states, districts, and schools, while supporting the transition from education to employment and independent living through rehabilitative services. OCR protects students’ civil rights by investigating discrimination complaints, including those involving the denial of accommodations and services. Fragmenting these offices threatens the stability of civil rights protections for students with disabilities and their families.
Our laws guarantee students with disabilities the right to a free and appropriate public education. As the parent of a child with disabilities who benefited tremendously from these rights and federally mandated protections I am deeply concerned by the Administration’s efforts to weaken these critical safeguards. As CEO of BroadFutures, an organization that champions neurodivergent young people, many of whom have benefited from special education services, through career readiness and internship programs, I am equally concerned that these actions undermine protections that help disabled young people access education, employment, and independent living.
BroadFutures will continue to support the Department of Education’s integrity and the civil rights of neurodivergent young people as they transition to adulthood, employment, and independence.
Carolyn Jeppsen
CEO/President/Co-Founder, BroadFutures