Disability Scoop

Layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education will leave no more than a handful of staffers in the agency’s special education office, jeopardizing oversight of the nation’s programs for students with disabilities, advocates say. The Trump administration is following through on a White House pledge to lay off federal workers as the government shutdown drags on. While officials at the Education Department are mum on the changes, court documents show that about 466 employees at the agency are affected by the reduction in force, or RIF, and disability advocates said they suspect that the figure is an undercount.

IDEA requires the Secretary of Education to “lead, direct, oversee federal activities that are permanently codified into law,” said Denise Marshall, CEO of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, or COPAA, a nonprofit that advocates for the rights of students with disabilities and their families. “Decimating the Department of Education disrespects and ignores the requirements of the law,” Marshall said.