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 spoke with education administrator Kemouy Bhalai about how moving special education and civil rights oversight out of the Department of Education affects the daily realities of 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): Given your hands-on experience, how would moving special education from the Department of Education to HHS impact your daily teaching, IEP process, and families? What are your biggest immediate concerns?
Kemouy Bhalai: The biggest piece I’m thinking about is funding and how it will impact staffing. It is already so difficult to find highly qualified special education staff or to get new teachers coming out of programs who are ready to jump right in. I wonder how the shift in funding will impact schools and which programs we can offer across the continuum.
I also wonder about funding for research, professional learning opportunities, and the consistency of expectations for teaching staff and building leaders. If guidelines and regulations are constantly changing, how does that impact student services and family communication when it comes to training and hiring staff? Beyond that, what services might be removed? We are seeing students coming in with higher levels of need, yet schools are facing shrinking budgets to support what actually happens in the classroom.
Dreger: How does shifting special education to HHS affect public messaging, and what specific safeguards are needed to protect students?
Bhalai: There is already a significant stigma surrounding special education, particularly within historically underserved or marginalized communities. Some families are hesitant because special education is weaponized or viewed negatively. While there are certainly health components to special education that are important to acknowledge, I wonder how this shift impacts the broader educational framework.
If services become more health-driven, who is delivering them? Will additional personnel with a health lens be brought into schools? On one hand, having behavior specialists or health professionals in buildings is crucial because classroom teachers shouldn’t be expected to manage complex behaviors without specialized training. However, if there isn’t a clear plan to bring the additional specialized staff, we put buildings in a position where they are expected to do more without the necessary capacity.
We also have to ask: what is continuing from the current model and what is shifting? Will disability qualifications or accountability structures change? Who is in the room helping make these decisions as these plans are developed?
Dreger: What concrete steps can education allies and organizations take to support school leaders and teachers right now?
Bhalai: To support educators, we need more intentional spaces—like town halls—where district leaders, school administrators, and community organizations can connect and form genuine partnerships. Many of us currently operate in silos, trying to solve the exact same problems independently. Sharing and leveraging local resources for academic tutoring, mentoring, and mental health would prevent staff burnout and reduce the high turnover we see among school leaders and teachers.
One successful approach we used [at my school] was partnering directly with community-based organizations to bring counseling and virtual therapy options directly into our school building. We saw a significant rise in anxiety across all student populations, even in the elementary grades.
Collaborative networks and programs like EALA are vital because they create opportunities to learn from other sites, build connections, and bring actionable strategies directly back to our staff and classrooms.
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 Kemouy Bhalai for sharing her 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.