The agency has cut nearly the entire staff involved in administering federal funds for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, one of the officials said.
Airports experience flight delays and staff shortages during closure
Major airports are experiencing staffing shortages as TSA and air traffic controllers work without pay during the government shutdown.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Education has laid off nearly the entire Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services in a new wave of layoffs that began Friday, the union representing the agency’s employees announced.
It was not immediately clear how many people in the department had been laid off because there was no official estimate from the agency. But based on reports from staff and their managers, most employees below the leadership level were part of the layoffs, said Rachel Gittleman, president of American Federation of Public Employees Local 252.
Separately, an employee in another office involved with the university access program known as TRIO was also fired, she said.
Gittleman told USA TODAY that the layoffs, which the union challenged in court, “double the harm to K-12 students and schools across the country.”
A Department of Education spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment Saturday. Education Secretary Linda McMahon has repeatedly stated that protecting students with disabilities and ensuring they have access to the educational resources to which they are legally entitled is a top priority.
“I’d like to see more money go to states for that,” she told CNN in March.
In a court filing Friday, the Justice Department announced that more than 460 Department of Education employees have been laid off, reducing the department’s already exhausted workforce by about a fifth. That number could rise even further.
The layoffs affect more than half a dozen federal agencies and are part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to pressure Congressional Democrats to end the ongoing government shutdown. Nearly 90% of the Department of Education has also been furloughed.
A Department of Education official told USA TODAY that the department has laid off nearly all employees who work to administer funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the main federal law that supports students with disabilities. He wasn’t sure how these programs would survive going forward.
“This system was designed to happen at the school level, with district oversight, state oversight and federal oversight,” said Glenna Wright Gallo, who served as assistant secretary of state from 2023 to 2025. “Now we’re losing that system of checks and balances.”
Secretary McMahon suggested that the Department of Health and Human Services, rather than his own agency, would be better able to oversee IDEA funding. However, a parliamentary vote is required for the transition to become official.
Given the likely absence of comprehensive federal services for students with disabilities, Wright-Gallo recommended that parents and advocates start paying more attention to support systems at the local and state level.
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..
