Eliminating the Department of Education has long been a right-wing goal, and the Trump administration has steadily been attempting to do so since taking office. Now, the administration has moved closer to stripping the department of its authority as it removes two key aspects of education regulation out of the hands of the DoE.
Experts decry removal of special education, civil rights enforcement from DoE
The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it is moving two of the major responsibilities of the Department of Education to other agencies. Under the reorganization, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) will now be under the control of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This will give HHS power over regulating the education of students with disabilities, including administering the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the 50-year-old law that essentially created special education and guarantees education equality for students with disabilities.
The reorganization will also move DoE’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon defended the reorganization in a written statement, saying, “The Trump Administration has been clear: as we scale back federal micromanagement when it hinders success, we are equally committed to bolstering the efficacy of federal oversight where it is essential.”
As NPR reported, however, critics argue that the moves make little sense based on the goals of the special education and civil rights programs, and they warn that the reassignments will make these programs less efficient and less effective.
One former employee of OSERS, who is also the parent of an adult with disabilities, told NPR that “this move would separate out oversight of the implementation of IDEA and it would decimate civil rights protections that have been in place for more than 50 years.”
Denise Forte, president and CEO of the think tank EdTrust, called the reorganization “another vindictive attempt to undermine public education.”
Catherine Lhamon, who ran OCR under Presidents Obama and Biden, said moving the office to the Justice Department was “a terrible idea,” as DOJ has “no interest and no expertise in doing the kind of work that OCR does.”
Right-wing agenda behind efforts to dismantle Department of Education
The Department of Education was created in 1979 under the directive of President Jimmy Carter. Conservatives have long come to oppose the department, arguing that it gives too much power and oversight for education to the federal government instead of the states.
Eliminating the Department of Education is one of the main goals of Project 2025, the right-wing blueprint authored by The Heritage Foundation for Trump’s second term in office.
Since returning to the White House in 2025, Trump and McMahon, a friend and ally of the president, have moved quickly to dismantle the DoE, laying off much of the agency’s staff and moving multiple offices to other departments.
The administration has already laid off almost all of OSERS’ staff. Trump’s piece-by-piece dismantling of the DoE has come as part of a larger implementation of most of the proposals in Project 2025.
In addition to gutting the Department of Education by removing much of its authority, the reorganization plan may also subject the reassigned programs to right-wing political influence.
The Department of Justice has been dominated by Trump allies and used to target the president’s political opponents, and civil rights enforcement under DOJ has shifted from protecting minorities to pushing the administration’s agenda that white people are the major victims of discrimination.
The Department of Health and Human Services, meanwhile, has been reshaped by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to push an agenda that critics argue ignores medical science and increases public health dangers.
Kennedy’s views on autism, in particular, have been condemned by many experts as unfounded and dangerous.
Despite grave misgivings from experts and advocates, the Department of Education will no longer hold primary responsibility for overseeing special education or enforcing the civil rights of students. The stripping of these authorities moves the DoE two steps closer to being completely dismantled, as Trump and other conservatives have long desired.