Ranking Member Bobby Scott Slams ED for Endangering the Future of Public Education

Ranking Member Bobby Scott Slams ED for Endangering the Future of Public Education

WASHINGTON - Today, Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Education (ED) announced it intended to sign additional interagency agreements to transfer the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitations Services (OSERS) to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

"Arguably, the Department of Education (ED)'s most important function is to protect and defend students' civil rights and ensure every student can access a high-quality public education.

"The two offices within ED that have an outstanding role in defending students' civil rights are the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS). Yet today, ED has decided to move these offices to agencies that are ill-equipped to defend students' civil rights or implement education policy. Moving these offices reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of students' and families' needs. Most civil rights complaints are resolved with administrative enforcement, not a lawsuit. Students with disabilities are not patients, and special education is not a medical issue.

"The whole process of entering into interagency agreements has been undertaken as part of the President's plan to illegally close ED and 'return education to the states.' But we do not need a crystal ball to know what will happen if it is left up to the states to protect students' civil rights - one only needs to read a history book. When states had no federal oversight, we saw the intentional segregation of public schools, an outright refusal to educate students with disabilities, and a systemic lack of resources for low-income communities.

"Today's announcement was purely a political one - made for the President to fulfill a campaign promise. Bluntly, today's announcement is not in the best interest of students, families, or their communities. Democrats on the House Committee on Education and Workforce are committed to the protection of civil rights and guaranteeing that all students have access to a quality education."

Background:

In February 2026, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that ED paid OCR investigators up to $38 million not to work.

In April 2026, the Senate HELP Committee released a report that in 2025, OCR reached zero resolution agreements involving sexual harassment, sexual violence, seclusion or restraint, racial harassment, or discriminatory school discipline - despite more than 2,700 pending cases.

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