WASHINGTON – The top Trump administration official overseeing special education is resigning ahead of a contentious reshuffling of her office's workforce to the Health and Human Services Department.
Kelly Rogers, the acting assistant secretary in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, is set to depart her job on Friday, Sept. 11, according to an email obtained by USA TODAY. She was in the job for fewer than four months.
The shift injects yet another element of volatility into the work of the federal division in charge of administering billions of dollars in taxpayer funds to states and schools to help students with disabilities. The office, which experts have described as the "engine room" of special education, has been particularly
rocked over the past year and a half by President Donald Trump's crusade to dismantle the Education Department. The downsizing campaign has led to many morale-sinking changes, including major layoffs and a scrutinized plan to give HHS a greater role in the division's operations.
Rogers' abrupt exit comes as more than 100 employees in her division are set to physically move over to HHS this week, according to the Education Department's union, which opposes the move and calls it illegal. Congressional Democrats, and even some Republicans, have expressed doubts about the benefits of the reorganization, which Trump administration officials have said is part of their broader efforts to limit the federal role in education. Rogers struggled during a July 9 meeting to assuage disability advocates' concerns about potential bureaucratic dysfunction caused by the shift, USA TODAY previously reported.
Rogers did not give a specific reason for her departure from the Education Department. In her resignation memo, she said she remained "confident in the team's ability to continue moving forward with strengthened outcomes for individuals with disabilities through the HHS partnership."
Savannah Newhouse, the Education Department's press secretary, said in a statement to USA TODAY that Rogers is "returning to her home state of Florida to take on a great opportunity and be closer to her family."
"We thank her for all of her hard work and dedication to bettering education and employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities," Newhouse said.
Zachary Schermele is the congressional correspondent for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's top special education official quits before staff reshufflling
