By Aurora Dreger
The federal landscape of special education and civil rights enforcement is experiencing an unprecedented structural shift. At the Educating All Learners Alliance (EALA), we believe that policy changes are best understood through the lived experiences and expertise of the individuals navigating them on the ground.
In this installment of our Voices from the Field series, we talked with Dr. Jacque Williams, Ed.D., Esq. As a lawyer with 20+ years of K-12 teaching experience in the US and internationally, Phillips provides an essential perspective on how moving special education and civil rights oversight out of the Department of Education impacts the daily realities for students with learning differences.
Context: In 2026, federal oversight shifted as the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) transitioned to Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) moved to the Department of Justice (DOJ). This ongoing interview series explores the real-world impact, systemic challenges, and community opportunities stemming from these structural moves.
Aurora Dreger (EALA): What does moving special education and civil rights oversight out of the Department of Education mean from a systemic level, especially when thinking about legal protections for families?
Jacque Phillips: Everything is going to be questionable and a bit of “wait and see.” What gets really sticky, though, is the transition. Knowing that oversight is now switching over to the Department of Justice (DOJ), it’s a big question mark. For us as attorneys, my questions are: when does it start, how do we file, what is the process, and what are the timelines?
In the meantime, what happens to the kids? We cannot just stop. These are life-and-death situations, specifically regarding 504 plans. We had a case where a student was allergic to lavender. The 504 plan was not shared, a well-meaning counselor sprayed lavender, and an ambulance had to be called because it was life-threatening. If we don’t have an active enforcement process for when a school resists these accommodations, that creates a life-or-death situation.
Another example is a student who used the school elevator. The school kept changing the elevator code without telling him. Because he was a high-achieving student who didn’t want to be late, he began taking the stairs, which was a major safety and liability risk. With the 504 in place, it’s incredibly easy to just give the student the elevator code.
Aurora Dreger (EALA): How might this alter the way school districts or schools interpret their obligations?
Jacque Phillips: A major concern about moving oversight to the DOJ is that while they have attorneys, they are not education attorneys or special education specialists. We face this same problem in Colorado [where I live] with the Civil Rights Division; if you file a disability discrimination complaint with them, they don’t have education attorneys who understand the complicated legal frameworks of IDEA.
It is incredibly difficult to resolve these issues when the attorney on the other side doesn’t understand the legal process or specialized concepts [when it comes to education]. At Denver OCR, we had highly skilled attorneys who understood disability discrimination and IDEA. If we go to HHS or DOJ, we have to make sure there are skilled lawyers [with specialized knowledge]. When you have skilled school lawyers working with skilled parent lawyers, you can solve things reasonably without damaging relationships.
Aurora Dreger (EALA): What can the education and legal communities do right now to best support families? Is there anything we can do to be proactive, or is it mostly about preparing for the worst?
Phillips: I hate that it is such a “wait and see.” I don’t know if the DOJ is going to reach out to us for input. Right now, states are going to have to figure out their own paths like we did in Colorado by establishing state-level lanes for special education and 504 complaints.
For parents, they have always had to advocate for their kids with disabilities—that is not going to change. Preparing for this means ensuring we are electing leaders and education experts to government positions who understand these systems.
Showing the Path to Possible
At EALA, we remain steadfast in our commitment to non-partisan resource sharing, community collaboration, and amplifying the bright spots and vital perspectives within our network. A special thank you to [Interviewee Name] and the team at [Organization] for sharing their time and vital insights for this series.
What is your transition story? Every voice matters as we navigate this new chapter together. If you are a parent, practitioner, student, or advocate with thoughts, hopes, or questions regarding the OSERS and OCR structural moves, we want to hear from you.
