06/17/2026
Sharing this Statement from the Autism Society of America on the Department of Education Agreement to Move IDEA and Civil Rights Functions:
The Autism Society of America opposes the Department of Education’s Interagency Agreements (IAAs) to transfer the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), including Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) functions, to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and to move the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
These actions would significantly restructure federal disability and civil rights policy. Congress has long placed IDEA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and related education and rehabilitation programs within the U.S. Department of Education, and has repeatedly strengthened these laws there since the Department’s creation. This reflects a deliberate bipartisan commitment to ensuring coordinated oversight of educational access, civil rights protections, transition services, and pathways to employment for students with disabilities.
Students with disabilities, including nearly one million students served under the Autism category in IDEA, rely on the Department of Education’s expertise and infrastructure to ensure a free appropriate public education and access to meaningful supports in inclusive settings. These students are general education students first, and their success depends on strong coordination between education, civil rights, and workforce systems.
Moving IDEA functions to HHS would shift education and transition programs into an agency focused primarily on health and human services, risking fragmentation of the education-to-employment pipeline and weakening coordination with schools, postsecondary education, and workforce development systems.
Similarly, moving OCR to DOJ would separate education-focused civil rights enforcement from the agency responsible for education policy and oversight, potentially making it harder for families to resolve discrimination complaints in educational settings.
As IDEA moves beyond its 50th anniversary milestone, the Autism Society of America urges the Administration to withdraw this action and urges Congress to oppose it and take all necessary steps to preserve the Department of Education’s central role in protecting educational opportunity, civil rights, and pathways to employment for individuals with disabilities.
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The Autism Society of America is urging advocates to contact Congress immediately to oppose the Administration’s Interagency Agreements (IAAs) that would transfer key responsibilities for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and...
