In a sweeping move, the Trump Administration’s Department of Education (US ED) has wiped out the office in charge of special education, firing nearly everyone in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in a wave of new layoffs that began Friday, according to USA Today and ABC News.

It appears the agency is using the federal government shutdown as an opportunity to slash services for students with disabilities. On Friday Oct. 10, the U.S. Department of Education laid off over 460 employees, dramatically reducing the workforce of a beleaguered agency that is already struggling to serve students on the heels of massive cuts. US ED is responsible for enforcing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the law creating a free and appropriate education for children with disabilities, and funds special education services to the tune of around $15 billion annually across states.

Friday’s mass layoffs significantly impacted the nation’s special education services within the US ED, and could have an immediate impact on children with disabilities, education department sources told ABC News. A whistleblower and leader at US ED told ABC:

“Do people realize that this is happening to this population of vulnerable students?… [If] there’s no staff, who the heck is going to administer this program? That’s the absurdity of this… There is a risk that the money to educate their children will not be given to the state, and that their access to support and advocacy for their children with special needs will no longer continue because there is no staff available to administer IDEA.”  The leader called the layoffs to this division “ridiculous,” contending that they will harm families of special needs students.

Make no mistake — this is all in line with Project 2025’s plan to convert funding to “no-strings” block grants. Project 2025’s plan explicitly shifts most funding from the IDEA into formula block grants, which are given directly to local school districts or parents. This would bypass state education agencies and remove federal oversight and minimum standards for how the funds are used.

We must all demand the restoration of these positions, as well as full IDEA funding and legal protections for students with disabilities. Please speak up NOW by sending this email. Your members of Congress and the US ED need to hear from the American public. 

Click HERE to email your member of Congress today! 

Thank you for your continued support of public education.

Best,

Susan Spicka, Executive Director, Education Voters of PA