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Administration moves special education and civil‑rights oversight out of Education Dept.

educationJun 16, 202644433

The Trump administration announced it will move oversight of special education from the U.S. Department of Education to the Department of Health and Human Services and transfer enforcement of civil rights in education from Education's Office for Civil Rights to the Department of Justice. The shift relocates the Office of Special Education Programs into HHS and places Title VI, Title IX, and Section 504 enforcement under DOJ's civil-rights apparatus, removing two major enforcement functions from the Education Department. Families and schools will now file complaints and seek enforcement through health and justice agencies rather than an agency dedicated to education, changing who sets compliance priorities and how students with disabilities and civil-rights plaintiffs access protections.

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