AJE is sharing an effort that many advocacy groups are engaged in TODAY, March 5th,  across the country.   More details are below –

TODAY is a National Call-In Day to oppose moving oversight and administration of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to a different federal agency. While there is no announced date for this move, officials have stated that they do intend to make this change.

Please call your U.S. Senators and U.S. Representative and urge them to tell ED to protect children with disabilities and DO NOT MOVE special education programs such as IDEA, vocational rehabilitation, and OCR out of the Education Department.

To help locate your U.S. Senator and Representatives, you can use these links –

• U.S. Senators
• U.S. Representative 

Or call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. Ask to be connected to your Senator(s) and Representative.

Once connected, use the suggested script to leave a message with anyone who answers the phone:

Hi, my name is _________ and I live in ____________________. I am a (parent of a child with a disability / advocate/concerned community member) calling to express my opposition to the U.S. Department of Education moving special education, vocational rehabilitation, and civil rights functions out of the Education Department. Special education programs are education programs first and should be administered by an agency that focuses on education. Other Departments like Health and Human Services and Labor don’t have experience running education programs that focus on educating and serving students with disabilities. Moving special education programs, vocational rehabilitation and civil rights investigations out of ED will only lead to less educational opportunity for students with disabilities.

I would like the Member of Congress to call the Secretary of Education and ask that special education programs, including vocational rehabilitation and civil rights investigations be kept at the Education Department. [The staffer that answers the phone will reply back to you.]

In closing, say:

Please let the Member know how important this issue is to me and to their other constituents who focus on and support children with disabilities and their families. Thank you for your time.

By centering family voices and real-world impact, this effort seeks to raise awareness and understanding among policymakers about the importance of maintaining strong federal leadership in this space.