Senate Committee to Consider Bipartisan Bill Protecting Special Education

Jul 28, 2026

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee has scheduled a markup for Thursday, July 30 to vote on an unprecedented bipartisan agreement that prohibits the transfer of certain offices and functions of the Department of Education (ED) to other Federal agencies. The primary bill under consideration, S. 5046, was negotiated by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Tim Kaine (D-VA) and explicitly prohibits the Administration from transferring four ED offices—the Office of Indian Education, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), and the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE)—out of ED. Concurrently, HELP Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA) announced his own proposal, the Special Education Administration Protection Act (S. 5038), which would prevent the executive branch from moving OSERS into the Department of Health and Human Services, while leaving open the possibility of transferring the office to alternative agencies. Alongside these bills, HELP will also mark-up the Respond, Innovate, Succeed, and Empower Act (RISE) Act (HR.3939/S.3589), the Reading Excellence and Achievement for Development (READ) Act (S. 4689), the 21st Century Dyslexia Act (HR 5769/S.3010), the College Transparency Act (S.2511), and several other bills.

Related Posts

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *