Sneak Preview: Reactions To Recent ED IAAs Are Mostly Critical
(The following was excerpted from a recent Thompson Grants Compliance Expert article.) Stakeholder reaction to the Department of Education’s (ED) recent announcement of four new interagency agreements (IAAs) generally has been critical, and these and related efforts by the administration have garnered the attention of some members of Congress who are now calling for the removal of ED Secretary Linda McMahon.
Along with the implementation of 10 previous IAAs between ED and other federal agencies, ED on June 16 unveiled four more IAAs — one with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and three with the Department of Justice (DOJ) — which ED said are designed to reduce federal bureaucracy and improve the efficient delivery of federally funded programs and activities to better support students and families.
Under the first agreement, ED would shift the day-to-day management of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) to HHS, which will assume administration of programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), rehabilitation services and support for Special Olympics and federal schools. ED would retain statutory responsibility and enforcement authority, and IDEA funding would continue to flow through ED for now, but such funding would later transfer to HHS.
The other IAAs would essentially embed the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Office of Student Privacy and Protection within DOJ, under which DOJ will take over investigation of civil rights complaints, administration of student privacy programs and management of desegregation training/assistance programs. Again, ED would retain formal authority over OCR, including oversight of its statutory responsibilities. However, DOJ would take on a larger role in investigations, potential resolutions and student privacy enforcement.
Among those blasting the IAAs is the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD). It contends that the agreements go far beyond an administrative reshuffling, and move special education programs and education civil rights enforcement away from the agency that has spent decades working with states, school districts, educators and families. While ED explains that OSERS and OCR will keep their legal responsibilities, NCLD notes that the agency does not define “what work will be handled by HHS and DOJ, whether staff will move, how families will file complaints or seek help, or who will be accountable when something goes wrong.” It adds that HHS has no expertise in enforcing IDEA compliance, which is vital to ensure students with disabilities receive an appropriate public education.
(The full version of this story has now been made available to all for a limited time here.)
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