Acting OSERS chief Kelly Rogers says new HHS partnership will not change IDEA protections

Kelly Rogers, acting assistant secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services at the U.S. Department of Education, said a newly announced partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will strengthen federal oversight without changing families’ legal rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or the Rehabilitation Act.

Rogers opened by introducing herself and noting that, unlike local school officials, the federal government does not make individual placement or service decisions. "IDEA is an educational law, not a medical law," she said, adding that the partnership "does not and cannot change that." She said that placement decisions will continue to be made by parents and the individualized education program team.

Rogers said the administration has increased IDEA funding and offered specific figures. "Funding is not being decreased," she said, stating the administration increased IDEA funding by more than $144 million for the coming year and has proposed a historic increase of more than $1 billion for fiscal 2027. She said federal funds will continue to flow to state education agencies and then to local school districts.

Framing the move as a response to feedback from families and partners, Rogers thanked parents and stakeholder groups for raising concerns about barriers to services and said that OSERS’ monitoring of state compliance with IDEA and the Rehabilitation Act "can and should be enhanced." She described the HHS partnership as a way to leverage additional expertise and technology "to strengthen that work, not replace it."

Rogers also addressed what she called false and misleading information circulating online about services covered by federal law and urged transparency and accountability from the federal government. She identified herself as a mother of a son with autism and said she was speaking directly to families "with clarity and facts."

Rogers closed by reiterating that IDEA and the Rehabilitation Act predate the Department of Education and that children's rights and protections under those laws are unchanged. She wished families a restful summer and promised that services would continue when school resumes.

The announcement does not itself change statutory rules, and Rogers did not describe specific operational steps or a timeline for how HHS and OSERS will share responsibilities. Those implementation details were not specified in the remarks.