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States have made steady progress including students with disabilities in mainstream classrooms, an independent federal report finds, but lawmakers and advocates worry that headway will be lost as federal special education offices move from the Department of Education to Health and Human Services.

Released this month, the shows the number of students with disabilities spending much of their days in general education classrooms grew by 25% between 2012 and 2024. The largest growth came in the population spending 80% or more of their school days in inclusive settings, in accordance with a federal civil rights law enacted more than 50 years ago.

But the rigorous monitoring and technical assistance provided by the federal Department of Education鈥檚 Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services are at risk amid severe staff cuts, reduced state visits and the office鈥檚 shift to another agency, say lawmakers who requested the report.

鈥淚鈥檓 glad this report was delivered, and was heartened to see a significant increase in the number of students with disabilities being placed in general education classrooms for much of their day,鈥� U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, wrote in an email to 91涩漫. 鈥淏ut this report makes plain that progress is not being made equally in all places 鈥� and that it would be extremely foolish to move oversight over special education programs out of the Department of Education to other agencies that lack the expertise and experience to close those gaps.鈥�

Sens. Kaine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont requested the report as part of a broader examination of where students with disabilities receive their education. In 2025, Kaine was among a group of senators who U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon鈥檚 proposal to shift special education out of the Department of Education as a move that will 鈥渞everse decades of progress in how we support students with disabilities and their families.鈥澛�

On June 16, the move was formalized with . The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to requests for comment, but in the agreement the agency鈥檚 director, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., described the move as a 鈥減artnership鈥� that will eliminate bureaucracy, save money and 鈥渄eliver more effective support for individuals with disabilities and their families.鈥澛�

Under the 1975 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, children with disabilities must be educated alongside their non-disabled peers whenever appropriate. The law aligns with research that shows positive outcomes from inclusive educational practices. A foundational by the National Center on Educational Outcomes found that up to 85% of special education students can meet the same achievement standards as other students if they are given specially designed instruction, access, support and accommodations.

also shows that students with disabilities in inclusive general ed classrooms do better academically and socially, pursue postsecondary education, and are more likely to get a competitive job and live independently.

Disabilities studied in the GAO report include autism, hearing impairment, visual impairments, orthopedic impairments and intellectual impairments among others.

The report shows modest but steady gains in national inclusion rates, but progress was uneven. In 42 states and the District of Columbia the number of students with disabilities spending at least 40% of their time in mainstream classrooms increased, but in North Dakota and Nevada that share of students decreased by about 3%. Inclusion rates also went down in Minnesota, Alabama, Ohio and Georgia over the 12-year period.聽

Educators in some states pointed to district staffing shortages to explain why some students with disabilities who require an aide have not joined general education peers. Others noted that a school鈥檚 success largely depends on its leadership.

鈥淸School culture] is the No. 1 issue,鈥� a school official told GAO investigators. 鈥淭he [principal] is the most powerful benefit or hindrance to inclusion. Unfortunately, a lot of principals do not have special education background or depth of knowledge in special ed.鈥�

Advocates worry that moving special education services to HHS will erode a core element of the IDEA.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a very real separation,鈥� said Jennifer Coco, interim executive director of the New York-based Center for Learner Equity. 鈥淲hat will make inclusion happen is setting an expectation that students with disabilities are students first. We start with the presumption that they’re going to be in the general education classrooms being taught by general ed teachers.鈥� 

Until this year, the federal Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services has visited and monitored 10 states a year to ensure that the IDEA is being enforced and to offer support and assistance where it is not. Those state visits are expected to drop to two per year, Coco said, which means less insight into how students are being educated and less support at the state and district levels.

鈥淎ll of the foundational pieces at the federal level that drive the results we see in this report have been dismantled,鈥� she said. The Department of Education鈥檚 staff cuts and decision to move special education services is 鈥減ulling the rug out from underneath all of us in terms of how we’re going to sustain the progress that this report shows us.鈥�

Advocates are also concerned that by housing special education services in HHS 鈥� whose director drew criticism with his that children with autism 鈥渨ill never pay taxes鈥� 鈥� will add stigma for students with disabilities.

鈥淚t matters who’s overseeing special education,鈥� said Lisa Mosko Barros, founder of the California-based advocacy organization Speducational. 鈥淭he tone they set matters.鈥� Kennedy鈥檚 remarks about people with autism indicate a 鈥渕indset that is concerning,鈥� Barros added. 鈥淚t’s like enlisting the support of a hospital to oversee a school district.鈥�

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