If your child has an Individualized Education Program (IEP), federal special-education oversight is going through a contested administrative reorganization. On June 15, 2026, the Department of Education signed an inter-agency agreement to transfer administrative functions of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), while civil-rights enforcement functions move separately toward the Department of Justice.
Despite early reports of a completed transfer, OSERS remains a statutory entity established by Congress under the Department of Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3417). An administrative memorandum between executive agencies cannot unilaterally dissolve a statutory office or rewrite the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Between bipartisan pushback in Congress, legal challenges, and high-profile leadership departures, the reorganization remains an active, contested transition rather than settled law. Here is what families need to know about what has changed, what has not, and how to protect your child's educational rights today.
What OSERS and OSEP Do
OSERS oversees the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), which administers Part B (school-age grants and regulations) and Part C (infants and toddlers early intervention) of IDEA. OSEP distributes billions of dollars in federal funding to state educational agencies, monitors state compliance with federal disability mandates, reviews state systemic performance plans, and issues formal policy guidance that school districts must follow. When a school district systematically delays evaluations or fails to deliver services, federal oversight runs through this structure.
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OSERS also oversees the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), which funds state vocational rehabilitation agencies and pre-employment transition services for youth with disabilities. For high-school students preparing for adulthood, RSA programs connect students to job training, higher education, and independent living.
Status of the Transfer: Bipartisan Pushback and Leadership Turmoil
While the administration announced the transfer agreement in June 2026, the transition has met intense opposition from Congress, civil-rights organizations, and education leaders:
Statutory barriers: Under federal law (20 U.S.C. 3417), OSERS is chartered within the Department of Education. Closing or permanently relocating a federal department or statutory office requires an act of Congress. While administrative duties and personnel details can be shifted by executive action, the statutory mandate has not been repealed.
Bipartisan Senate pushback (S. 5046): In late July 2026, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee voted on a bipartisan basis to advance S. 5046. The legislation explicitly prohibits the executive transfer of OSERS to HHS and directs that statutory special-education oversight remain within the Department of Education. While S. 5046 has not yet passed the full Congress, the committee vote showed strong bipartisan resistance to the transfer. On September 2, 2026, Reps. John Mannion, Bobby Scott, and Brian Fitzpatrick introduced H.R. 10232, the House companion to S. 5046, per the Council for Exceptional Children.
September 2026 leadership resignation: Kelly Rogers, the Acting Assistant Secretary who led OSERS and oversaw the transfer, announced on September 9 that she would resign effective September 11, 2026, the day before nearly all OSERS staff were scheduled to start work at HHS, per NPR. Kirsten Baesler, the assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education, took over the role on September 14 on top of her existing job. On September 23, Sen. Chris Van Hollen and ten other senators wrote to Education Secretary Linda McMahon asking for dedicated OSERS leadership and an end to the transfer. The departure follows earlier staff reductions that left OSEP operating with a fraction of its historical workforce, which has raised deep concerns about the federal government's day-to-day capacity to monitor state compliance.
Advocacy coalition warnings: Leading disability organizations, including the Autism Society of America, the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA), and the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD), continue to push back against the reorganization. They point out that HHS is a health-care financing and public-health agency. It does not run K-12 systems, train classroom teachers, or manage curriculum standards. Advocates argue that severing special education from general education weakens inclusive practices and threatens transition services.
What This Means for Your Child's IEP Right Now
If you are sitting across the table from a school district, start here: your child's legal rights under IDEA have not changed.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act remains federal law. State educational agencies and local school districts are still legally bound to deliver a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). School districts must continue to:
Follow federal and state evaluation timelines when a parent requests an initial evaluation or reevaluation.
Convene mandatory annual IEP team meetings with all required team members present.
Deliver all specialized instruction, related services (such as speech, occupational therapy, and physical therapy), and accommodations specified in the signed IEP.
Provide prior written notice whenever the district proposes or refuses to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of your child.
What has shifted is the strength of the federal enforcement backstop. With OSEP staffing reduced and the agency caught in an inter-agency reorganization, federal monitoring and discretionary investigations will move more slowly. Families cannot count on swift federal intervention to resolve local disputes. Families need to know their rights and enforce them through local and state channels.
Five Concrete Steps Families Should Take Right Now
When federal oversight is in transition, parents who keep rigorous documentation and know state administrative procedures are in the best position to protect their child's education:
Maintain your own independent records: Do not rely solely on school district digital portals. Download and maintain an external digital or physical binder containing every evaluation report, signed IEP, progress report, standardized testing result, and written correspondence.
Log every missed service: Keep a running, dated log of every session of speech therapy, occupational therapy, specialized instruction, or behavioral support that was cancelled or missed. If your child misses services due to district staffing shortages, you are legally entitled to request compensatory education to make up for lost progress.
Understand the difference between 504 and IEP protections: If you are sorting out accommodations or wondering which framework your child qualifies for, see our guide comparing a 504 plan vs IEP.
Connect with your state Parent Training and Information (PTI) Center: Every state has at least one federally funded PTI Center established under IDEA Part D. PTI centers offer free parent consultations, explain state-specific administrative complaint and mediation procedures, and provide local referrals. You can locate your state center through the Center for Parent Information and Resources.
Use state dispute resolution mechanisms: If your district refuses an evaluation or fails to implement an IEP, remember that state administrative complaints, mediation, and impartial due process hearings are administered by your State Department of Education, not federal agencies. For guidance on launching the evaluation process correctly, see our guide on how to request a special education evaluation and our IEP guide for families.
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Sources: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.); Department of Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3417); U.S. Senate HELP Committee, S. 5046 Markup and Report (2026); Disability Scoop reporting on federal special education leadership changes (September 2026); NPR, "Special education head at Education Department abruptly resigns" (September 9, 2026); Sen. Chris Van Hollen, letter to Secretary McMahon on OSERS leadership (September 23, 2026); Council for Exceptional Children on H.R. 10232 (September 4, 2026); Autism Society of America, Policy and Advocacy Updates on Federal Reorganization (September 2026); Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) Statements on OSERS Transfer. Last updated: September 29, 2026.
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