RFK Jr. is now in charge of helping some of the students he has publicly insulted

Earlier this week the Department of Education announced a series of “partnerships” with other U.S. government agencies, as the Trump administration attempts to effectively dismantle the department. Among the many changes, the Education Department announced a plan to shift away the responsibilities of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. 

This Video Is Trending Right Now →

OSERS helps people with disabilities achieve competitive integrated employment, which is to say jobs that pay at least minimum wage with the same benefits as those for nondisabled employees, and allows them to work with nondisabled employees. Under the Education Department’s plan, its core functions would shift to the Department of Health and Human Services. 

This should not be surprising. The Trump administration — and Republicans writ large, going back to Ronald Reagan — have called for the abolition of the Department of Education, arguing that education should be determined at the state level. And during last year’s government shutdown, the Trump administration fired almost all OSERS employees. 

Though the announcement didn’t come out of the blue, it nevertheless alarmed many disability rights advocates. Katy Neas, the CEO of disability rights group the Arc of the United States and a former acting assistant secretary at OSERS, warned in a statement: “A student who is denied services, disciplined for disability-related needs, or blocked from an accessible classroom needs one federal education system that can see the whole picture and act.” 

Even the proposal’s legality is dubious. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act’s most recent reauthorization — signed by President George W. Bush in 2004 — says the office must exist within the Department of Education. The Trump administration’s move is reminiscent of the president’s executive order to eliminate the Education Department entirely — which would actually require an act of Congress. 

Under any circumstances, this proposal would be terrifying for people with disabilities. But it is especially alarming given that OSERS’ core functions will now be under the purview of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy’s conspiracy-mongering about the false link between autism and vaccines is well known. Having him atop the nation’s health agency has done incalculable damage from his undermining the credibility of vaccines. He holds risible and deeply wrong views of autistic people and people with disabilities. 

In April, for instance, Kennedy said, “These are kids who will never pay taxes. They’ll never hold a job. They’ll never play baseball. They’ll never write a poem. They’ll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted.” Of course, many autistic people wind up doing all of these things. But — and I want to underscore this with every molecule of my existence — even if they never do, they deserve to be protected, and they deserve to have the best services possible.

Furthermore, if the head of the department in charge of helping autistic people find services believes that autism destroys their lives, there will be little incentive to provide them with services to find competitive integrated employment.