Two of the U.S. Department of Education's biggest responsibilities will shift to other federal agencies: safeguarding student civil rights and administering programs for students with disabilities.

The Trump administration said Tuesday it will move much of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. OSERS manages programs that support students with disabilities, offering guidance and oversight to ensure states follow the landmark Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a law that guarantees disabled students access to an equitable public education.

The administration announced it would also move much of the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights to the U.S. Department of Justice. OCR's staff of civil rights lawyers are tasked with protecting students in K-12 schools and universities from discrimination based on disability, gender, race and national origin. OCR has been in tumult for months, targeted repeatedly by the Trump administration for staff cuts, then reversals of those cuts.

The moves to HHS and DOJ would further dismantle an agency that President Donald Trump has vowed to close, and it would leave the Education Department with a shrinking number of responsibilities.

In a press release, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said of shifting special education programs: "Through our partnership with HHS, we will align federal services with the goal of strengthening academic outcomes and supporting individuals with disabilities so that they can achieve greater independence, key life skills, and meaningful employment."

And of moving civil rights enforcement, McMahon said the partnership between OCR and the Justice Department would "ensure stronger, more coordinated civil rights enforcement and robust protections for student privacy."

The Trump administration announced the moves as "partnerships" between the Education Department, HHS and the Justice Department, though, in a call with reporters, senior department officials who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity were vague on how these new arrangements would affect current staff. With some previous interagency agreements, Education Department staff have simply been moved, along with their responsibilities, from one physical office to another.

According to the text of the agreements, which were obtained by NPR, HHS would do much of the work of administering formula grant programs related to IDEA while the Education Department would continue to provide management and leadership, likely because the law requires that these responsibilities still be overseen by the Education Department. While the administration claimed the move would better serve some of the nation's most vulnerable children, disability rights advocates sounded the alarm.

"My stomach drops for children and parents of infants, toddlers, children and young adults with disabilities," a former OSERS staffer told NPR. "The move would separate out oversight of the implementation of IDEA and it would decimate civil rights protections that have been in place for more than 50 years."

The former employee said without federal oversight ensuring the rights of students with disabilities, schools' legal responsibility to disabled students could go unchecked. "If nobody's looking, they could buy football jerseys rather than pay for a one-on-one aide for a child with autism."

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