View source for Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

{{Organization
|OrganizationName=Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
|OrganizationType=Executive Departments (Sub-organization)
|Mission=OSERS aims to improve outcomes for people with disabilities of all ages by providing leadership, support, and resources in special education and vocational rehabilitation. It seeks to ensure that individuals with disabilities have equal opportunity and access to education, employment, and community living.
|ParentOrganization=U.S. Department of Education
|CreationLegislation=Department of Education Organization Act of 1979
|Employees=400
|Budget=$14.5 billion (Fiscal Year 2024)
|OrganizationExecutive=Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
|Services=Special education programs; Vocational rehabilitation; Research to practice; Transition services; Technical assistance
|Regulations=Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); Rehabilitation Act of 1973
|HeadquartersLocation=38.88649, -77.01873
|HeadquartersAddress=400 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20202, USA
|Website=https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/index.html
}}
{{Infobox government agency
|agency_name     = Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
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|formed          = {{Start date|1979|10|17}}
|preceding1      = Bureau of Education for the Handicapped
|preceding2      = 
<!-- (etc.) -->
|dissolved       = 
|superseding     = 
|jurisdiction    = 
|headquarters    =  400 [[Maryland Avenue (Washington, D.C.)|Maryland Avenue]], [[Southwest, Washington, D.C.|SW]]<br>[[Washington, D.C.]]
|region_code     = US
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|chief1_name     = [[Glenna Gallo]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/oas.html|title = OSERS: Office of the Assistant Secretary|date = November 15, 2021}}</ref>
|chief1_position = Assistant Secretary
|chief2_name     = 
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<!-- (etc.) -->
|agency_type     = 
|parent_department = [[United States Department of Education]]
|child1_agency   = [[Office of Special Education Programs]]
|child2_agency   = [[Rehabilitation Services Administration]]
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|keydocument1    = {{USC|20|3417}}
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|website         = {{URL|http://www.ed.gov/osers}}
|footnotes       = <ref name=S210/><ref name=Martin2013/><ref name=contactOSERS/><ref name=OSERS_OAS>{{cite web |title=OAS, Assistant Secretary |date=May 20, 2016 |website=U.S. Department of Education |url=http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/as.html }}</ref><ref name=aboutOSERS/>
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{{Education in the U.S.}}
The '''Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services''' ('''OSERS''') is a program of the [[United States Department of Education]].<ref name=contactOSERS>{{cite web |title=Contact OSERS |date=April 26, 2016 |website=U.S. Department of Education |url=http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/contacts.html }}</ref> 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, [[Special education in the United States|education]], employment and community living."<ref name=missionOSERS>{{cite web |title=OSERS Mission Statement |date=September 19, 2014 |website=U.S. Department of Education |url=http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/mission.html}}</ref>

==History==
In 1979, Congress passed legislation that split the [[United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare|Department of Health, Education, and Welfare]] in two parts — creating the [[United States Department of Education|Department of Education]] and the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services|Department of Health and Human Services]].<ref name=S210>{{USBill|96|S|210}} An act to establish a Department of Education, and for other purposes. {{USPL|96|88}}</ref> The Bureau of Education for the Handicapped (BEH) — established in 1967 by Title VI of the [[Elementary and Secondary Education Act]]<ref>{{USStatute|89|750|80|1208|1966|11|3|H.R.|13161}}</ref> — then became the core of the new Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.  Dr. Edwin W. Martin, Jr., then Deputy Commissioner of Education, and director of BEH was nominated by [[Jimmy Carter|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.<ref name=Martin2013>{{cite book |last=Martin |first=Edwin W. |title=Breakthrough: Federal Special Education Legislation 1965-1981 |publisher=Bardolf & Company |location=Sarasota, FL |date=2013 |oclc=842009296 |isbn=978-1-938842-05-4 }}</ref>{{Pages needed |date=October 2016}}

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

* [[Office of Special Education Programs]] (OSEP)
* [[Rehabilitation Services Administration]].<ref name=aboutOSERS>{{cite web |url=http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/aboutus.html |title=About OSERS |date=April 26, 2016 |website=U.S. Department of Education }}</ref>

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.<ref name=WIOA>Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, {{USStatute|113|128|128|1661|2014|07|22|113|H.R.|803}}.</ref>

==Leadership and activities==
As of May 15, 2023, [[Glenna Gallo]] is the Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.

Primary laws and statutes authorizing OSERS' programs and activities include:
* [[Individuals with Disabilities Education Act]] amendments of 1997. (IDEA)
* [[Rehabilitation Act of 1973]]. (Rehab Act)
* [https://gallaudet.edu/finance/education-of-the-deaf-act-eda-cost-principles/ The Education of the Deaf Act. (EDA)]
* [[Museum of the American Printing House for the Blind|Act to Promote Education of the Blind]] of March 3, 1879.
* The [[Helen Keller National Center]] Act. (HKNC)
* [[Assistive Technology Acts#Assistive Technology Act of 2004|The Assistive Technology Act of 2004]]. (AT Act)
* The [[Randolph–Sheppard Act]]. (Vending Facilities For The Blind)<ref name=policyOSERS>{{cite web |title=Legislation and Policy |date=September 23, 2015 |website=U.S. Department of Education |url=http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/policy.html }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.ed.gov/osers Official Website]

{{ED agencies}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Special education in the United States]]
[[Category:United States Department of Education agencies|Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Office of]]
[[Category:1979 establishments in the United States]]