The Education Department is looking to move its special education programs elsewhere, weeks after the Trump administration laid off nearly every staff member in the Office of Special Education Programs, according to a department spokesperson.
In a statement, Madi Biedermann, the deputy assistant secretary for communications, didn’t provide much detail about the pending decision, but she did confirm that the Education Department was looking for new federal partners in this move.
“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,” the statement read.
The move is part of the Trump administration’s overarching goal to reshape the nation’s K-12 system, one that President Donald Trump and his allies have criticized as riddled with “wokeness”. Part of this vision — which was detailed in Project 2025 — is to dismantle the Department of Education.
If the Education Department moves forward with this, it will affect the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a federal law that ensures the nation’s 7.5 million students with disabilities receive a free and appropriate public education. Black children make up about 16% of special education students in K-12 public schools, according to the most recent federal data.
Higher Roadblocks to Receiving Special Education Services
In the latest round of mass federal layoffs, Trump gave the pink slip to nearly every worker in the Office of Special Education Programs. Although a federal judge temporarily blocked the move on Oct. 15, if the government is successful at its next hearing, the people charged with implementing IDEA will no longer exist, weakening protections for students with disabilities.
Without these essential workers, it will be harder for Black students to get the services they need or to get the legal protections they deserve, according to advocates.
“For those students who have grievances and need interventions from the federal government to enforce those federal protections, not having those workers there to address those concerns and answer those immediate concerns is just another line of protection that students won’t have,” Eric Duncan, the director for P-12 policy at EdTrust, previously told Word In Black.
It would take at least 60 votes in Congress to fully transfer IDEA’s responsibilities to another agency, according to States Newsroom. Currently, Republicans hold 53 seats in the Senate, while Democrats only have 45.
