On June 16th, the Department of Education made a bad decision. They said that the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) will be moved to the Department of Health and Human Services. And the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) will move to the Department of Justice.
Both OSERS and OCR contribute to inclusive education for disabled students. OSERS help states follow the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA says that students with disabilities should receive an inclusive education. OCR protects students civil rights. OCR helps when students are being discriminated against.
Moving OSERS and OCR away from the Department of Education is part of the plot to destroy inclusive democracy. You can’t have an inclusive democracy if you don’t include disabled people in every day life–that includes education. You can’t have inclusive democracy without civil rights protection.
This move takes away important tools for disabled people and their families. It makes civil rights enforcement harder. It makes inclusive education harder. It is part of a larger pattern of trying to take away disability rights. It is part of a larger pattern of contempt for disabled people.
The agencies these offices are moving to include the Department of Justice and Health and Human Services. The person in charge of civil rights enforcement at the DOJ is ableist. So is Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at HHS. And so are the anti-democracy groups pushing to get rid of the Department of Education.
We can’t accept this attack on students with disabilities and their families. We can’t accept this attack on disability communities and disability inclusion. We can’t accept this attack on democracy.
Disability Communities Defending Democracy 