Advocacy Alerts:  Protect Disability Rights and Enforcement

SUMMER 2026, URGENT:  Keep OSERS (Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services) and OCR (Office of Civil Rights) in the U.S. Department of Education.

On June 16, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education announced an Inter-Agency Agreement to transfer the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office for Civil Rights to the Department of Justice.  This move will weaken the special education system built by disability advocates over the past 50 years, making it harder for students with disabilities to access services, resolve discrimination, and to hold states accountable under IDEA.

Disability groups nationwide have united in advocacy to stop this move.  Parents, teachers, and community members can read more through the links below, and can either take action through one of these organizations or compose their own correspondence to their U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators:  https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials 

• Information and action link from the Council for Exceptional Children:  https://exceptionalchildren.org/blog/broad-coalition-disability-civil-rights-and-education-organizations-denounces-eds-latest 

• Information from The Arc of the United States https://thearc.org/blog/moving-special-education-and-civil-rights-out-of-education-department-risks-a-patchwork-of-rights-for-students-with-disabilities/ and action link:  https://act.thearc.org/campaign/164768/ 

• Action link from the National Education Association (NEA):  https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/action-center/take-action/tell-congress-stop-destruction-department-education 

• Information from the PACER Center:  https://www.pacer.org/press-release/pacer-statement-on-osers-move/ 

• Information from the Disability Rights and Education Defense Fund (DREDF):  https://dredf.org/this-isnt-reform-its-abandonment-plain-language/ 

Disability organizations are hosting a national call-in day for citizens to contact their members of Congress on Thursday, June 25, but calls and correspondence are needed and important at any time. 

URGENT:  Protect Special Ed Funding

Action alert from the Council for Exceptional Children:  This spring, the White House released its Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 budget proposal to Congress, and the proposal includes cuts to Special Education and other programs.  For special education, the proposal would eliminate the IDEA Preschool Program and the Part D National Activities, including personnel preparation and development, technical assistance, parent support, and more. Education research, K-12 teacher preparation, and professional development would also see significant cuts or elimination. The proposal would eliminate 17 programs, including the Javits Gifted and Talented grant program, afterschool and summer programs, literacy, family engagement, and more.   Link to take action:  https://exceptionalchildren.org/lac?vvsrc=/Campaigns/136239/Respond 

URGENT:  Protect Section 504 

From the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund:  On January 25, 2026, nine states, including Texas, renewed their attack on Section 504, an essential law that requires schools to provide qualifying students with disability accommodations.  Parents can learn more and take action through the follwing link:  https://dredf.org/protect-504/ 

Ongoing:  Restore the Office of Special Education Programs 

Action alert from the Council for Exceptional Children:  “The Department of Education has nearly wiped out OSEP and RSA—offices essential to ensuring students with disabilities receive the services they’re guaranteed under IDEA. Congress must act NOW. Tell lawmakers: Restore OSEP. Protect IDEA.”  Link to take action:  https://exceptionalchildren.org/lac?vvsrc=/Campaigns/130718/Respond  

Ongoing:  Protect the U.S. Department of Education

Proposed elimination of the U.S. Department of Education poses a serious threat to disability rights.  This would not be a minor change, and would have a devastating impact on all students in public schools, but especially those in vulnerable populations, including students with disabilities.  National PTA has issued a call to action for all members to advocate to protect the Department of Education:  https://www.pta.org/home/advocacy/take-action?vvsrc=%2fcampaigns%2f121489%2frespond 

Although the White House has made already significant cuts to the Department of Education staff, the department itself cannot be eliminated without action from Congress.  YOUR voice is needed to ask your U.S. legislators to protect the Department!

Learn more from NCLD about the importance of protecting the Department of Education, and access additional information you can use to contact your U.S. Senators and U.S. Representatives:  https://ncld.quorum.us/campaign/protect_used/ 

The Arc of the United States has also shared a call to action:  https://action.thearc.org/o6PsrFH 

Who Represents Me?

Some organizations recommend contacting your elected officials directly with personalized messages (rather than using forms provided by organizations), when possible, to show how much the issue matters to you.  You can find your U.S. Senators and Representatives here:  https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials 

Updated 6/23/26

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