Sponsors (39)
The bill secures continuity, experienced oversight, and federal accountability for IDEA services (benefiting students with disabilities, schools, and states) at the cost of limiting the Department of Education's ability to reorganize, modernize, or outsource functions—potentially foregoing efficiency gains and raising short-term legal and administrative risks.
Students with disabilities and K–12 schools keep IDEA/ OSEP oversight inside the Department of Education, preserving continuity of special education program administration and statutory protections.
People with disabilities and school systems retain experienced DOE staff responsible for IDEA enforcement and technical assistance, reducing disruption in dispute resolution and program delivery.
States and local education agencies gain administrative certainty for budgeting and compliance because statutory placement of OSEP/IDEA oversight lowers the risk of disruptive executive reorganizations.
Taxpayers and the public may forgo efficiency gains and cost savings because the Department of Education will be constrained from reorganizing or modernizing operations.
Federal employees and DOE program managers lose flexibility to reassign staff or change roles, which could hamper workforce management and the agency's responsiveness to changing program needs.
State education agencies and school districts may be prevented from contracting with external experts or forming state-level partnerships for IDEA administration, potentially limiting innovation or localized solutions.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Prevents using federal appropriations to dissolve, restructure, reassign staff of, or outsource Department of Education offices that administer or enforce IDEA programs.
Introduced March 25, 2025 by John W. Mannion · Last progress March 25, 2025
Prevents federal appropriated funds from being used to eliminate, consolidate, restructure, reassign staff of, or outsource Department of Education offices that administer or enforce special education programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It also affirms that the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) is statutorily placed within the Department of Education and that the executive branch cannot unilaterally change that arrangement using appropriated funds. The bill preserves current in-house administration, staffing assignments, and enforcement responsibilities for IDEA programs by restricting actions that would change office structure, personnel roles, or delegate those functions outside the Department using money from appropriations Acts.