NDSC backs former officials urging Congress to block special education transfer to HHS

The National Down Syndrome Congress is backing former Republican and Democratic education officials who want Congress to stop moving special education programs from the Education Department to Health and Human Services. The group says the proposed transfer would add bureaucracy, weaken accountability and disrupt services for students with disabilities.

Why it matters: - The proposed transfer could shift special education oversight away from the Department of Education and make it harder for states, districts and families to navigate the federal system. - The National Down Syndrome Congress says the change could weaken accountability for services protected under IDEA. - Students with Down syndrome and other disabilities could face disruption in supports, services and protections if the transfer moves forward.

What happened: - The National Down Syndrome Congress praised a letter from former Republican and Democratic presidential appointees who oversaw IDEA implementation for more than 50 years. - The letter asks Congress to immediately stop the transfer of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services from the Department of Education to HHS. - OSERS includes the Office of Special Education Programs and the Rehabilitation Services Administration. - The announcement came July 13, 2026, in Washington.

The details: - The Department of Education recently announced an interagency agreement to move OSERS to HHS. - The agreement is one of 14 that would split Education Department programs across six other federal departments. - Under those agreements, states and districts would need to work with seven federal departments instead of one. - NDSC opposes all of the interagency agreements tied to the broader reorganization. - The same former officials previously urged Congress to reject a proposal to block grant IDEA funding. - That proposal would have consolidated funding for preschool children with disabilities, national technical assistance centers and parent resource centers into a state block grant with no federal oversight. - Congress rejected that block grant proposal on a bipartisan basis. - Stephanie Smith Lee, NDSC policy and advocacy director and former director of the Office of Special Education Programs, organized the letter. - Lee said the move would make it harder for states and districts to navigate the federal system and would weaken accountability for millions of students with disabilities. - Jim Hudson, NDSC executive director, said the transfer would create unnecessary disruption and make it harder for families and schools to access needed resources. - The National Down Syndrome Congress is a nonprofit founded in 1973 and focused on advocacy, public awareness and information for people with Down syndrome and their families.

Between the lines: - The fight is about more than agency structure; it is about who controls disability education policy and how much federal oversight remains in place. - The former officials carry weight because they served under both parties and helped implement IDEA across multiple administrations. - Congress already rejected one effort to reduce federal control over IDEA, which suggests bipartisan resistance may remain a key obstacle to the new plan.

What's next: - NDSC is urging Congress to block the transfer and preserve the federal role in special education. - The broader interagency agreements would need to be implemented before states and districts feel the full administrative impact. - The outcome now hinges on whether lawmakers move to stop or limit the planned transfers. - More information is available through the organization's social channels, including LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

The bottom line: - NDSC and a bipartisan group of former officials are warning that moving special education out of Education and into HHS could dilute oversight, complicate access and undermine decades of bipartisan IDEA policy.