Writing Against Dismantling—Defending the Future of Special Education and Rehabilitation

The fields of special education and rehabilitative services stand at a perilous crossroads. The ongoing dismantling of the Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and the Rehabilitative Services Administration (RSA) represents not merely an administrative restructuring, but a deliberate erosion of half a century of hard-won protections for individuals with disabilities. It strikes the very heart of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. These laws enshrine the rights and dignity of learners and individuals whose access to education and opportunity has too often been denied.