The Trump administration announced Tuesday, June 16, that it would transfer management of the federal office overseeing special education enforcement to the Department of Health and Human Services. Disability advocates say the move could weaken oversight of services for students like those receiving special education in Canyons School District.

The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services enforces the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the federal law guaranteeing services for roughly 8.5 million students with disabilities nationwide. Two days after the announcement, the U.S. Department of Education's June 18 determination letters placed Utah in the "Needs Assistance" category for both Part B (students ages 3–21) and Part C (infants and toddlers) under IDEA. Thirty-three states received the same designation.

"The concern is not that IDEA disappears overnight," Jacqueline Rodriguez, CEO of the National Center for Learning Disabilities, said after a Wednesday, July 9, briefing with Education Department officials. "The concern is that the administration is preserving IDEA at the Department of Education on paper, while moving much of the work that makes IDEA real for families somewhere else."

Acting assistant secretary Kelly Rogers told disability advocates on that same July 9 call that HHS was not taking over IDEA. But Chad Rummel, president of the Council for Exceptional Children, said the briefing "left more questions than answers for parents and educators." The Education Department distributed IDEA funds to states on Tuesday, July 1, including a new $144 million investment to expand interventions for students with disabilities, according to a department statement.

Utah's gaps documented

A report published Monday, April 20, by the Utah Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights found persistent disparities in how the state serves students with disabilities. Students with disabilities in Utah graduate at significantly lower rates than their peers, face higher dropout risk, and lose more instructional time to suspensions, restraint, and seclusion, the committee found.

Special education teachers and para-educators remain in short supply statewide. Low wages, high turnover, and the reassignment of para-educators to fill general vacancies limit individualized support, according to the report. Families often become the primary defenders of their children's educational rights, with access to formal complaint procedures and legal representation remaining uneven.

The committee recommends the Utah Legislature codify the state's definition of "meaningful inclusion," clarify that 2024's HB347 classroom-safety law cannot circumvent IDEA protections, and fund an ombudsman role so parents have clearer complaint pathways.

CSD's special education infrastructure

Canyons School District's special education department is led by Director Terri Mitchell, who took the role at the start of the 2025-2026 school year after leading the district's inclusive preschool programs. The district also operates the Life Skills Academy, a transition program for adult students with disabilities in Sandy.

Separately from the federal policy shift, the CSD Board of Education voted unanimously on Monday, July 7, to relocate Life Skills Academy and the Entrada program to the Bella Vista building for the 2027-28 school year. Tom Sherwood, CSD's director of high schools, told the board the move would provide a permanent home, more space, and better transportation access. "I see this as a win, win, win," Sherwood said at the July 7 meeting.

How families can engage

CSD registration for the 2026-2027 school year opens Monday, August 3. Families with questions about special education services can contact Mitchell's office at [email protected]. The Utah Parent Center and the Disability Law Center offer free advocacy support for families navigating the IEP process. The USCCR committee's full report is available at usccr.gov.