Position Statement: Special Education and Community Integration

The Arc of North Carolina

June 2026

The Arc of North Carolina is watching several potential changes at the federal level involving special education and Olmstead. While these are suggested changes and have not yet gone into effect, our organization wants to make its position clear.

• The federal administration has announced the move of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) from the Dept of Education to the Dept of Health and Human Services. OSERS is responsible for supporting and managing programs  related to education for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This office is also responsible for overseeing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a law that guarantees disabled students access to an equitable public education.

We are concerned that these changes will create more confusion and loss of oversight for legal issues pertaining to IDEA. This change would shift essential education, transition, and workforce development programs into an agency whose primary mission is health care, potentially reducing coordination among schools, vocational rehabilitation services, and postsecondary education and training opportunities.

• The recent US Department of Justice (DOJ) opinion on the Olmstead decision endangers long-standing protections incorporated in the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504. The DOJ issued a memo saying, in essence, states are not required to provide home or community-based supports to people with disabilities. These supports and services allow people with IDD to remain in their homes in the community of their choice. The memo could give states adequate reason to say money is not available to provide services, which would mean many people with disabilities would have very limited choices and may be forced to go to institutions.

We firmly believe that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have the right to live in the community of their choice. Community support services are essential for individuals to maintain ties to their families and friends. Living in communities provides opportunities for employment, education, going to church and socializing with friends. Although it may be more efficient for states to consolidate medical, psychological, and residential services in hospital settings, institutional services should be reserved only for those who require very specialized services.

The Arc of North Carolina strongly urges the federal administration to work with IDD community organizations to determine more effective ways to reduce costs and deliver services. These suggested changes, in addition to the expected cuts to the Medicaid and SNAP programs, cause great concern and would make life for people with disabilities and their families more challenging. We need to ensure individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families have special education, civil rights, and are integrated, not segregated, in their communities of choice.