11. Department of Education · Minor · Needs Congress
Move OSERS disability discrimination enforcement to DOJ
Printed page 327 11. Department of Education
“To the extent that OSERS supports federal efforts to enforce our laws against discrimination of individuals with disabilities, those assets should be moved to the Department of Justice (DOJ) along with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR).”
What has happened
- Attempted
One of four interagency agreements announced this day is an ED-DOJ Civil Rights Partnership under which DOJ helps evaluate, investigate and resolve complaints of discrimination "on the basis of race, sex, or ability" in schools. The Department of Justice is the department this ask names, and disability discrimination is within the partnership's scope - but nothing moved out of OSERS. The fact sheet is explicit that the agreement runs between ED-OCR and DOJ, that complaints are still filed with ED-OCR and that ED "will retain all statutory authorities and functions"; and the OSERS-side agreement announced the same day sends special education and rehabilitative services coordination to HHS, not DOJ.
Research log
What was searched, and what didn’t count as evidence
Research notes
- This ask is conditional on the Office for Civil Rights moving to DOJ, which is #827 and is itself only attempted. Read together, the two agreements give DOJ a role in civil rights enforcement without moving either office.
- The ED-HHS Special Education and Rehabilitative Services Partnership announced the same day is the disposition OSERS actually got; it is scored on #873 and #816.
- Action
- transfer
- Object
- OSERS disability discrimination enforcement assets
- ID
- 819