Trump administration shifts special education initiatives to HHS and moves civil rights enforcement and student privacy to DOJ

The Trump administration announced June 16 that special education and civil rights oversight functions previously handled by the Department of Education would be reassigned across federal departments, with the Department of Justice taking over civil rights enforcement and student privacy protection, and the Department of Health and Human Services taking over special education initiatives for students.

According to The Hill, the move changes which Cabinet agency leads key federal responsibilities affecting students with disabilities and the civil rights compliance framework that schools and other education providers are expected to follow. The administration said the Education Department will no longer be the lead for those specific responsibilities under the new structure.

Under the reorganization described by The Hill, civil rights enforcement will shift to DOJ, placing investigation and enforcement authority with a law-enforcement focused department rather than the Education Department. Student privacy protection would also move to DOJ, a function that can affect how complaints are handled and how privacy-related requirements are investigated.

At the same time, The Hill reports that HHS will take over special education initiatives for students. The change places programmatic responsibility for special education initiatives outside Education, drawing on HHS’s existing healthcare and human services infrastructure, though the specific initiative-by-initiative scope was not detailed in the reporting.

The announcement comes as federal compliance and enforcement in education matters often depends on the coordination between agencies that set policy, investigate complaints, and pursue enforcement actions. The reassignment described by The Hill could affect timelines for investigations, the development of guidance, and how affected families or school districts interact with federal counterparts.

Because the announcement’s full legal and procedural mechanics were not included in the available reporting, it remains unclear from the June 16 account which existing regulations, guidance documents, or statutory responsibilities will be transferred wholesale, which will be adapted, and whether new internal directives will define the division of labor among departments.

The next step for schools, parents, and advocacy groups is expected to be the publication of implementing details, such as updated agency points of contact, internal enforcement procedures, and any revised guidance reflecting the new department roles described by the administration.