OSERS oversees services that help people with disabilities secure competitive integrated employment, and advocates warned the shift would fracture federal oversight for students denied support or access.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would gain authority over those functions at HHS, deepening alarm among disability groups that cite his past remarks on autism and other disabilities.
The move fits Trump's long-running push to dismantle the Education Department by redistributing its duties across agencies rather than abolishing it through Congress.
Does moving disability services to HHS signal a fundamental shift from an educational model to a medical one?
With special education oversight now fragmented, who is ultimately accountable for upholding students' civil rights under federal law?
Breaking Up the Department of Education: The 2026 Shift of Special Education and Civil Rights Functions
Overview
In June 2026, the Trump administration transferred the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services from the Department of Education to Health and Human Services, and the Office for Civil Rights to the Department of Justice. This move was part of a broader effort to reduce bureaucracy and streamline federal education functions by placing them in agencies with more specialized expertise. These transfers, following earlier shifts of responsibilities to other departments, reflect a strategy to downsize the Department of Education. The administration believes this realignment will improve service delivery, but it has sparked debate about the future of federal education oversight.