From 504 plans to IEPs, there are many safeguards in place at the local level to ensure that students with disabilities have the resources they need. But federal oversight is a key piece of the puzzle.
President Trump signs executive order dismantling the Department of Education
The White House said the order would not completely dissolve the Department of Education, but would “significantly reduce” its size.
WASHINGTON – Families and educators across the country were left in a state of uncertainty over the weekend after the federal Department of Education laid off nearly all employees in the government’s special education sector.
Nearly the entire Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation, including the Office of Special Education Programs, was laid off, according to agency employees and their unions.
Many employees in the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights work to protect students with disabilities from discrimination, the union said. Affected departments included offices in the District of Columbia, Seattle, and Atlanta.
The Ministry of Education has not yet officially confirmed the details of the layoffs. Many government agency spokespeople are on furlough due to the ongoing government shutdown and did not respond to requests for comment.
The cuts, which are being challenged in court, are part of the Trump administration’s efforts to pressure Congressional Democrats to end the government shutdown, which is entering its third week.
The cuts sparked widespread anxiety about the future of federal oversight of special education programs and the billions of dollars in funding states and schools are entitled to. Advocates recently emphasized that funding needs multiple layers of oversight to ensure students with disabilities have access to the resources they need to learn safely and effectively.
For decades, offices with these responsibilities have employed strong teams. They were largely spared from the Department of Education’s first round of major cuts in March.
But Dennis Marshall, CEO of the Parent Lawyers and Advocates Council, a national advocacy group for students with disabilities, said after this weekend, “you can count them on one hand.”
How will staff cuts affect children’s services?
To be clear, nothing has changed in federal civil rights law. Students with disabilities still have a legal right to a “free and appropriate public education,” a standard set by a landmark half-century-old law known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The law continues to require Congress to pay for a portion of the average per-pupil cost of special education, which costs billions of dollars each year.
The difference after recent layoffs is that the people and systems in charge of those jobs have been turned upside down.
“IDEA still exists,” special education advocate and lobbyist Lisa Lightner wrote in a blog post Sunday. “But what about the people who were previously helping with enforcement? Most, if not all, of them, pending the final tally, have just been laid off. That means there’s less oversight of the state, less technical assistance, and fewer resources.”
“The law went nowhere,” she explained. “But our backup was successful.”
Katie Nias, a former senior official in the Department of Education’s special education division, warned that parents need to be careful.
“The reason we have federal special education laws is because states don’t educate students with disabilities,” she told USA TODAY. “This is a time when parents need to get serious and prepare to be the most active advocates for their children ever.”
What about IEPs, 504 plans?
Parents of students with disabilities, of whom there are millions in the United States, are often familiar with several key terms.
One of these is the Individualized Education Plan (IEP). The other is a Section 504 plan. Both are similar types of blueprints that ensure that students with disabilities attending K-12 schools have the resources and accommodations they need, at no cost to their parents.
Don’t worry, 504 plans and IEPs are not going away. These are required by federal law but are implemented at the local level.
Here’s the problem. Not all schools follow the law correctly. It may also be due to discrimination. Other times, it’s because educators don’t necessarily understand what special education laws require.
Let me give you an example. In Wyoming, the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights intervened when a school tried to delay an IEP meeting for a kindergartener who uses a wheelchair. Without the department’s intervention, the student would not have been in school, said Catherine Ramon, who led the department for many years.
“Historically, for decades, families have been able to come to the federal government and get relief without having to hire a lawyer,” she told USA TODAY. “These cuts will leave families unable to rely on it.”
Still, advocates said families should continue to file civil rights complaints with the Department of Education if they believe their children are being discriminated against. Some educational institutions in each state have a means to report suspected civil rights violations.
IDEA funds have already been disbursed
A big part of special education is money, specifically the federal funding stream created by IDEA.
Thanks to this law, billions of dollars flow from the federal government to states each year, which then distributes the funds to local school districts. These dollars pay for all kinds of expenses, including staff salaries, special equipment, and support for student health services.
The National Association of Special Education Directors says the latest IDEA funding went to states before recent layoffs.
“We should have funding for next year,” said Audrey Revose, the association’s senior director of government relations. But she cautioned that “sometimes glitches happen, sometimes questions arise, and someone from the Department of Education needs to intervene.”
She said the people who paid the money in the first place and those who traditionally helped solve problems for states and school districts seem to be gone.
It’s not clear whether states are ready to deal with what happens next, or what direction the Department of Education’s broader plans will take moving forward. Historically, special education departments at the state level have been subject to stress and turnover, Revors said. For years, the Department of Education’s Office of Special Education was different.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon has repeatedly expressed support for IDEA.
“I would like to see more money go to states for that,” she told CNN in March.
Zachary Schermele is a Congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can email us at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and on Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social..
