Federal Legislation & News
in Special Education
Disparate Impact Explainer Released
In response to the federal government’s current lack of support for the disparate impact framework, the Legal Defense Fund, Democracy Forward, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the National Institute for Workers’ Rights have released the Disparate Impact Explainer. Pushing back against Executive Order No. 1428 -which seeks to eliminate disparate impact- the new resource breaks down ways advocates and attorneys can continue to fight and promote fair access to opportunity for women, people of color, people with disabilities, older adults, and others, in contexts ranging from the workplace to housing to education. “Protecting these legal tools is about more than just policy; it is about defending the principle of equal opportunity that moves our communities and our country forward.”
How the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act shaped inclusive education over 50 years
OCDE Newsroom
Fifty years ago this month, a landmark law changed how schools support students with disabilities. On Nov. 29, 1975, President Gerald Ford signed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act — the first version of what is now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA. Influenced by preceding legal cases like Brown v. Board of Education and PARC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the new law guaranteed that children with disabilities would have access to a free and appropriate public education alongside their peers. Before the law was enacted, millions of children with disabilities across the U.S. had been excluded from public schools. Some were denied enrollment altogether, while others were placed in separate facilities with few opportunities to learn.
Disability advocates cry foul over dismantling of special ed: ‘Our world is on fire’
Disability Scoop
Efforts to gut the U.S. Department of Education’s special education office and move the program to another agency are already causing “immediate harm” to students with disabilities, advocates warn. Nearly a month after the Education Department moved to lay off nearly every staffer in its Office of Special Education Programs, some of the nation’s most prominent disability and special education groups say that the message from the Trump administration is clear. “Given the recent actions of the administration, the only conclusion that we can draw is that this administration doesn’t believe in educating children with disabilities,” said Chad Rummel, executive director of the Council for Exceptional Children, or CEC.
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Why shifting special ed oversight could be ‘a public education crisis’
K-12 Dive
Special education and disability rights advocates are ramping up their defense of the federal role in the education of students with disabilities as their concerns grow over a potential shift in how the U.S. conducts special education oversight and support. There is still no official plan from the Trump administration to move the duties of special education oversight out of the U.S. Department of Education to another federal agency — possibly the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. But over the past week, advocates have sent a flurry of letters and hosted online forums to prevent such a transition.
Despite the staff reductions at the Education Department, Denise Marshall, CEO of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, advises families to continue filing discrimination complaints with the Office for Civil Rights at the Education Department. “The law is still intact. We must continue to use it,” Marshall said on the press call. “We must work at the state and local levels to be sure that it’s implemented.”
Trump’s Ed. Dept. slashed civil rights enforcement. How states are responding
Education Week
In Pennsylvania, state Sen. Lindsey Williams, a Democrat from the Pittsburgh area, said her office has heard from families with complaints pending before the Education Department, and school districts in the middle of OCR investigations, that haven’t been able to get answers from the agency since the downsizing. Parents and advocates have said largely the same thing in court filings: that investigations in response to complaints they filed have simply stopped.
Williams is drafting legislation that would create a state Pennsylvania office of civil rights in the state’s education department. It would give the state new authorities, and strengthen existing ones, to investigate and enforce federal and state civil rights laws “in the absence of a federal government willing to do so,” Williams wrote in a memo about the bill that’s still in the works.
A small change in special ed. rules could affect equity, accountability, advocates warn
Education Week
A paperwork change proposed by the U.S. Department of Education would end an important accountability measure that helps ensure states adequately identify and address racial inequities in special education, disability rights advocates say. The agency said in an Aug. 21 proposal that ending the requirement that states report changes to their methods for calculating “significant disproportionality” on their annual federal applications under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act would ease paperwork burdens for state education departments. But comments on the proposal, which the agency accepted until Oct. 21, overwhelmingly oppose the plan. Those advocates contend the change would save states little time and come at the cost of important transparency.
“This is part of the Trump administration’s pattern” of eliminating key data collections about students and schools, said Ivy Morgan, the director of P-12 research and data analytics at EdTrust, an organization that advocates for educational equity.
Congress Must Conduct Oversight Hearings to Protect Children with Disabilities
Sweeping layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education have gutted key offices—including the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services Programs (which includes special education and rehabilitation services), the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE)—threatening decades of progress in protecting students with disabilities. These wholesale terminations place fundamental education laws in peril and place millions of children with disabilities at risk. The Secretary’s actions are directly in conflict with the Department’s statutorily required duties, and such changes have not been approved by Congress. Given this and recent reports of the Department beginning efforts to shift responsibilities under IDEA to other agencies, immediate oversight by Congress is essential. Tell Congress to conduct oversight hearings. The public deserves to learn how the Secretary plans to fulfill the Department’s full obligations under IDEA and other authorized disability laws.
Student with Down Syndrome thrives in general education class at Rockford school
Fox News 17
As the Individuals with Disabilities Act marks its 50th anniversary, one Rockford elementary school is demonstrating the law’s intent by fully including a second grader with Down syndrome in general education classes. Ellie Gard attends classes at Meadow Ridge Elementary School alongside her second-grade peers in Mrs. Wittenbach’s classroom, making her the school’s first student with Down syndrome to be fully included in a general education class. “They’ve been great here with helping her progress in her skills,” said Jennifer Gard, Ellie’s mother. “She’s kind of found these, these stories that she’s able to read, and she’s very proud of herself when she accomplishes things. She likes to be independent.” Ellie has been in general education classes since kindergarten. Her mother believes the inclusive environment is crucial for her daughter’s development. “I think it’s important because it allows her to be a part of her community, just like everybody else,” Jennifer Gard said.
The Slow Death of Special Education
The Atlantic
The Trump administration has taken the government shutdown as an opportunity to end federal oversight of the education services offered to more than 8 million children with disabilities in America. Last month, the Department of Education attempted to fire nearly every staff member left at the Office of Special Education Programs—an action now stuck in litigation. The department had already canceled millions of dollars in grants to provide teacher training and parental support for students with disabilities, and it is now “exploring additional partnerships” to move special-education services elsewhere in the government. Ostensibly, these cuts and administrative changes are part of a broader effort to empower states. But whatever the motive, the result is clear: The government has abandoned its commitment to an equitable education for all children.
Despite hold on Ed department layoffs, special education worries run high
Disability Scoop
A judge indefinitely blocked the U.S. Department of Education from laying off nearly every staffer in its special education office, but advocates say concerns about the future of the program remain. At a hearing this week, Judge Susan Illston of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California barred federal agencies, including the Education Department, from firing workers during the government shutdown. The decision comes more than two weeks after the Education Department laid off 121 employees in its Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, leaving no more than a handful of staff in the agency’s Office of Special Education Programs, which administers funding and oversees implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Unions representing many affected workers sued over the job cuts. In moving to extend a temporary pause issued earlier this month, Illston said she expects to find that the government’s actions to authorize so-called reductions in force, or RIFs, during the shutdown are “unlawful.” “I believe that I will find that their actions are arbitrary and capricious as shown by the haphazard way in which the RIFs have rolled out, and they are intended for the purpose of political retribution,” Illston said. Illston told the Trump administration not to implement RIF notices issued since the government shutdown began earlier this month and not to issue any new ones. Disability advocates welcomed the decision to halt the layoffs, but cautioned that the situation remains fraught. “We are thankful for the role the courts are playing in keeping this horrific decimation from going forward,” 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. “We will not relent or be relieved until it’s permanently behind us. The threat remains high for students with disabilities and their families.”
Teachers are using AI to help write IEPs. Advocates have concerns
Education Week
A growing number of special education teachers say they use artificial intelligence platforms to draft all or part of students’ individualized education programs, even as many districts lack policies about how the rapidly evolving technology can be used. Educators have long reported struggles to keep up with the paperwork associated with IEPs. Now, they say AI platforms can help them write the federally mandated, personalized documents that detail goals for students with disabilities more quickly and with greater detail, allowing them to commit more time to instruction. But using the technology to create IEPs opens up a host of practical, ethical, and legal questions generally left unanswered by a dearth of official guidance.
ED Secretary Speaks Up About Plans to Shift Programs Out of ED
Multiple press outlets are reporting that Secretary of Education (ED) Linda McMahon -as verified through ED’s communications office- is working to “make good on pledges” from the President to close the department and send programs, including activities related to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) elsewhere. Specifically, ED spokesperson Madi Biederman said, “the department is exploring additional partnerships with federal agencies to support special education programs without any interruption or impact on students with disabilities, but no agreement has been signed.” Meanwhile, COPAA joined more than 800 local, state, and national organizations in a statement calling upon the Administration and Congress to “protect children with disabilities, reverse layoffs, and uphold access to key educational services.” Also, COPAA co-led a letter with 60 national organizations asking Chairman Cassidy (R-LA) and Ranking Member Sanders (I-VT) to conduct an oversight hearing from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee regarding Executive violations of statutory requirements under the IDEA and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
ACT NOW! To do your part, please EMAIL CONGRESS and explain how the instability caused by the OSEP RIF is currently, or may impact children with disabilities.
LPI Releases Report on Use of Behavioral Threat Assessments
The Learning Policy Institute (LPI) has released Keeping Schools Safe? The Research on Behavioral Threat Assessments. The report reviews the use of behavioral threat assessment (BTA) systems to identify and manage potential acts of violence, such as school shootings, with the goal of preventing them before they occur. Research shows that when properly designed and implemented, BTAs can contribute to effective violence prevention. However, many states and districts are not consistently using evidence-based methods, and existing studies provide an incomplete understanding of how BTAs are applied and their effects on students. The report offers key considerations for policymakers evaluating BTAs as part of school safety strategies. It also includes links to related briefs and resources.
Trump admin considering a change for who runs special education
USA Today
The Department of Education is in the early stages of recruiting another agency to help oversee federal special education programs, a spokeswoman said. The potential transfer of responsibilities follows the Education Department’s layoff of nearly everyone in its special education division more than a week ago. The impending move would represent one of the most significant steps yet in President Donald Trump’s efforts to decrease the influence of the Education Department. And it creates a slew of new questions for families of students with disabilities about whether a significant overhaul at the federal level could impact them. It also emphasizes how recent court rulings and little GOP pushback have emboldened the Trump administration to functionally dismantle the Education Department, despite legal scrutiny of the White House’s authority to do so.
Report: Trump Admin. Mulling Transfer of Special Ed from US Education Dept
The 74
The U.S. Education Department is looking to move the $15 billion Individuals with Disabilities Education Act program outside of the agency, the Washington Post reported Tuesday. In a statement to States Newsroom, department spokesperson Madi Biedermann did not explicitly confirm the report, but said the department is generally looking for ways to move its operations to other agencies. President Donald Trump has pledged to eliminate the Education Department. The agency “is exploring additional partnerships with federal agencies to support special education programs without any interruption or impact on students with disabilities, but no agreement has been signed,” Biedermann wrote. Biedermann said Education Secretary Linda McMahon “has been very clear that her goal is to put herself out of a job by shutting down the Department of Education and returning education to the states” and that McMahon is “fully committed to protecting the federal funding streams that support our nation’s students with disabilities.” Trump’s administration moved to lay off 465 department employees, including 121 at the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, earlier this month amid the ongoing government shutdown. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the administration from carrying out the layoffs, but the ruling provides only short-term relief as legal proceedings unfold. Fully transferring responsibility for IDEA would require an act of Congress — a significant undertaking given that at least 60 votes are needed to break a Senate filibuster and Republicans hold just 53 seats.