541 organizations sign letter expressing disappointment with White House action.
By P.C. Staff
The Japanese American Citizens League issued a statement today announcing that it had become a signatory to a letter from a coalition of 541 disability, civil rights and education organizations expressing dismay at the White House’s action last week to transfer oversight of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) from the Department of Education to two other federal agencies.
The move splits two of OSERS’ prime functions — protecting the civil rights of students and supervising programs for disabled students — to the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, respectively.
In its statement, JACL said: “The transfer of these two departments away from the Department of Education marks an unprecedented disruption to the protection of the rights of students with disabilities and the civil rights of all students.”
The entire JACL statement may be read here.
The entire joint statement letter from the coalition may be read here.