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Most families want the same thing: children who feel safe, welcome, challenged and supported at school, and teachers who have the tools to help them succeed. Education must be focused on what truly matters: our children, the families who support them and the educators committed to their success. When politics overshadows learning, we compromise the very purpose of education.

We deeply understand how the U.S. Department of Education protects and supports children with disabilities. Laurie served as the director of the Office of Special Education Programs in the first Trump administration. Stephanie led that office in the George W. Bush administration. We both agree that the federal department is key to ensuring every child deserves a fair chance to get a quality education and the opportunity to reach their full potential.

That is why we oppose moving the office that oversees special education to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We are concerned this step, announced last month, is being driven by a broader push to close the Education Department, rather than by clear evidence that it would improve services for children.

The proposals to dismantle the department are framed as 鈥渞eturning education to the states.鈥澛燳et this proposal simply splits federal education responsibilities across multiple agencies, separating expertise that is meant to work together. It risks placing education decisions for children with disabilities in an agency primarily built for health programs聽and shifting oversight of school-age programs to agencies whose core mission is not K-12 learning.

These changes won鈥檛 reduce bureaucracy or empower states. They would add confusion, duplicative processes and hurdles, and inconsistent guidance across agencies. That creates a more fragmented system that is harder for parents, school districts and states to navigate, especially when families are already working to secure timely evaluations, services and coordinated support.

We recognize that the education system is not perfect, and improvement is needed. But meaningful reform must be grounded in facts about how the system actually works and the role the federal government plays within it.聽

States and local school districts already control the vast majority of education decisions. The federal department does not set curriculum, determine reading lists, decide how subjects are taught or control teacher certification.

What it does is less visible but critically important. It distributes and oversees federal education funding, provides technical assistance to states and districts and ensures accountability when the rights of students are not upheld.

Breaking up the department will affect all students, families and educators. It also carries an outsized risk for children with disabilities, because services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act depend on clear accountability, coordinated implementation and accessible pathways for families when something goes wrong.

More than 8 million students with disabilities (15% of all students) require and currently have the right to special education services. We are talking about children with dyslexia, autism, Down syndrome and other disabilities. These are children who can learn and grow up to become productive members of their communities and taxpayers 鈥� if they get the support they need.

They are also kids who, until 50 years ago, were largely excluded from public schools. Most people don鈥檛 know that it was federal action, through the enactment of Public Law 94-142 in 1975, that established the right for children with disabilities to attend public schools and receive a free, appropriate public education. That federal role is intrinsic to the success of children with disabilities. It provides essential oversight and technical assistance to states who are not otherwise equipped to implement the law and protect the rights of children with disabilities.

Dismantling the federal role in special education is rolling the dice for children with disabilities. Any breakdown in the system has devastating effects. When learning is delayed, the impact compounds; each missed milestone makes it harder to catch up, creating a ripple effect that can last for years.

For as long as we can remember, special education has had broad support. While we both worked in Republican administrations, we know that families, regardless of party or ideology, want the same thing: a school system that helps every child learn, belong, and succeed. Leaving parents and educators to fend for themselves, without the support they need to navigate a complex system, is not what they are asking for and is not what students need.

This is a moment for parents, families, educators and community members across the political spectrum to pay close attention and speak up. Every person who cares about children has a responsibility to truly understand what is being proposed, ask practical questions about how services and accountability would work, and share your perspective and concerns with state and federal policymakers.

Children need adults to protect consistent support and clear rights. The time to act is not tomorrow. It is today.

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