Senate advances bipartisan bill to protect special education

On July 30, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee voted to advance bipartisan legislation that would reverse and prohibit the use of interagency agreements (IAA) by the Department of Education (ED) to transfer responsibility for the administration of four of ED’s offices to other Departments within the Executive Branch.

Starting shortly after the announcement of the IAA related to the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) being moved to the Department of Health and Human Services, AOTA’s federal affairs team started to work with a small group of other interested parties, HELP Committee staff, and Senator Kaine’s office on legislative text and strategy for what would become S. 5046.

S. 5046, led by Senators Kaine (D-VA), Murkowski (R-AK), and Collins (R-ME), was approved by the full HELP Committee by a vote of 13-9. Originally, the legislation was going to address the IAAs related to OSERS and the Office of Civil Rights. After negotiations between the leads, the bill ultimately prohibited ED from transferring the responsibilities of OSERS, the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Office of Postsecondary Education, and the Office of

While AOTA will continue to advocate for ED to remain a unified agency, the action on S. 5046 was a positive step forward in the overall advocacy effort to protect the Department of Education and a demonstration of bipartisan support for ED. Contact your Members of Congress directly using AOTA’s legislative action center and tell them to protect special education. It takes only a minute, and you can do it today!