Department of Education Announces Additional Partnerships to Strengthen Coordination for Individuals with Disabilities Programs, Bolster Civil Rights Enforcement

On June 16, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced four new interagency agreements (IAAs) shifting operational responsibility for two of its core functions to other federal agencies: programs under the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) move to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), while civil rights enforcement, student privacy protection, and training and advisory services move to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Under the civil rights agreement, ED's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) will reportedly use DOJ's Civil Rights Division — led by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon — to evaluate, investigate, and resolve complaints, while OCR "retains management and leadership of OCR in accordance with federal law." ED framed the changes as efficiency measures, stating that civil rights enforcement will continue without interruption and that the Department will "retain all statutory authorities and functions." The OSERS programs — which oversee roughly $15.5 billion in FY2026 funding for early-intervention and K-12 special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act — will move to HHS's Administration on Disabilities. The moves followed previous IAAs, as well as steps to shrink the agency, including a March 2025 reduction in force that cut nearly half of ED's staff and the closure of seven of OCR's twelve regional offices.