USA Today

Enforcement of IDEA often is the stick some families need to ensure their children receive proper services from their local school districts. But parents of children with disabilities are on edge after President Donald Trump’s administration laid off a significant part of the Department of Education office that administers and enforces the law. A judge has temporarily paused the layoffs. The Education Department has been silent on why it laid off 121 people from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services, according to a court filing. The office allocates funding and enforces the IDEA, the law that facilitates accommodations for 7.5 million kids with disabilities. The office had 179 people in September 2024, the latest available number, which does not include any layoffs or buyouts that came earlier this year.

Additionally, the Education Department laid off 137 people in the office that enforces civil rights laws, including handling complaints about disability discrimination. “No education funding is impacted by the (layoffs), including funding for special education, and the clean (funding bill) supported by the Trump Administration will provide states and schools the funding they need to support all students,” Linda McMahon, the secretary of the Education Department, said in a statement Oct. 15. Denise Marshall, the CEO of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, called it “disingenuous” to say the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services is still open with only a handful of people on staff. “There’s no way they can fulfill their obligations under the law with such a skeleton crew,” she said. “We can’t even get answers from them.”