I write to you as your constituent, and a member of the American Cochlear Implant Alliance to request that you join as a sponsor of S. 5046. This legislation will protect fair and appropriate education for children with disabilities by preventing the transfer of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) from the U.S Department of Education (DoE) to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
On June 2026, the DoE proposed moving the OSERS to under the HHS. The American Cochlear Implant Alliance is concerned with the impact that this would have on the care and education setting for students with hearing loss.
OSERS primarily oversees the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which was created to ensure free and appropriate public education for students with disabilities. Before IDEA, children with disabilities were routinely excluded from classrooms and consigned to medical, institutional, or home settings. Folding OSERS into a health agency effectively reintroduces that outdated thinking: that educating a child with a disability is a medical matter and not an educational right.
Moving OSERS into HHS displaces the historical knowledge and expertise of education professionals who have spent their careers developing and implementing policies under IDEA. That expertise is not interchangeable and cannot be replaced by employees without a background in special education administration. The loss of that knowledge will ripple directly into how states implement IDEA and, ultimately, into classrooms across the country, where children with disabilities will suffer the consequences.
I am very concerned that this legislation will jeopardize children’s learning, their educational experience, and ultimately their development. I strongly request that you join as a sponsor of S. 5046.
