Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
Agency overview
Formed October 17, 1979 (1979-10-17)
Preceding
  • Bureau of Education for the Handicapped
Headquarters 400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C.
Agency executive
  • Sue Swenson, Acting Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
Parent department United States Department of Education
Child agencies
Key document
Website www.ed.gov/osers
Footnotes
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Education in the United States
Education portal
United States portal

The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) is a program of the United States Department of Education.[3] OSERS' official mission is "to provide leadership to achieve full integration and participation in society of people with disabilities by ensuring equal opportunity and access to, and excellence in, education, employment and community living."[6]

History

In 1979, Congress passed legislation that split the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in two parts — creating the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services.[1] The Bureau of Education for the Handicapped (BEH) — established in 1967 by Title VI of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act[7] — then became the core of the new Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. Dr. Edwin W. Martin, Jr., then Deputy Commissioned of Education,and Director of BEH was nominated by President Carter to be the first Assistant Secretary for OSERS. He was confirmed unanimously by the Senate. The Rehabilitation Services Administration and the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research were the other components of OSERS.[2]

Divisions

OSERS is composed of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services and two program components:

Until 2014, OSERS also contained the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act changed its name to the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research and relocated it to the Administration for Community Living, within the Department of Health and Human Services.[8]

Leadership and activities

As of May 2016, Sue Swenson is the Acting Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.[4]

Primary laws and statutes authorizing OSERS' programs and activities include:

See also

References

  1. 1 2 S. 210 An act to establish a Department of Education, and for other purposes. Pub.L. 96–88
  2. 1 2 Martin, Edwin W. (2013). Breakthrough: Federal Special Education Legislation 1965-1981. Sarasota, FL: Bardolf & Company. ISBN 978-1-938842-05-4. OCLC 842009296.
  3. 1 2 "Contact OSERS". U.S. Department of Education. 26 April 2016.
  4. 1 2 "OAS, Assistant Secretary". U.S. Department of Education. 20 May 2016.
  5. 1 2 "About OSERS". U.S. Department of Education. 26 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "OSERS Mission Statement". U.S. Department of Education. 19 September 2014.
  7. ↑ Pub.L. 89–750, H.R. 13161, 80 Stat. 1208, enacted November 3, 1966
  8. ↑ Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Pub.L. 113–128, 113 H.R., 128 Stat. 1661, enacted July 22, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Legislation and Policy". U.S. Department of Education. 23 September 2015.
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