The U.S. Department of Education advanced another step in its “Returning Education to the States” agenda by moving civil-rights enforcement and special-education responsibilities to other federal agencies. The Office for Civil Rights was set to shift to the Department of Justice, while the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services moved to the Department of Health and Human Services. Former Education Department lawyers warned the change could weaken the system for resolving discrimination complaints. Catherine E. Lhamon, who led OCR under the Obama and Biden administrations, said the DOJ’s enforcement mandate is structurally different from OCR’s review-and-investigate role. The administration’s framework relies on new interagency agreements—14 total—while critics argue splitting enforcement across agencies can create confusion for schools, families, and colleges that rely on consistent civil-rights procedures.