Shutdown deal may briefly restore federal special education staff : NPR

Congress reached an agreement To reopen the federal government, the Trump administration must reinstate federal workers laid off in October, including those tasked with overseeing the nation's special education laws. But it's unclear how long it will take for them to return.

As reported by NPRThe U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) is the central nervous system of programs supporting students with disabilities. It not only offers guidance to families, but also monitors state compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

OSERS cannot do its job without staff, and according to new declaration of the Department of EducationThe office lost 121 of its 135 employees as a result of the October layoff. That's important because while Wednesday's funding agreement will return those workers to “employment status” as of Sept. 30, there appears to be little protection for them after Jan. 30, when that provision expires.

“We're concerned that special education will disappear,” says Jacqueline Rodriguez, CEO of the National Center for People with Learning Disabilities..

The Education Department did not respond to NPR's specific questions about whether workers laid off in October will be allowed to return to work instead of being placed on administrative leave, or whether the department will try to fire them again after the agreement expires.

The department released only the following statement: “The Department has returned employees affected by Schumer's closure. The Department will comply with all applicable laws.”

If OSERS remains a shadow of its former self, Rodriguez says, “the only conclusion we can draw is that this is a deliberate dismantling of the entire special education system.””

There have also been big cuts to the Office of Civil Rights.

Another Department of Education office that supports students with disabilities was also hit by the October cuts.

Families often contact the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) when they fear their child has been wrongfully denied special education services. But recent Department of Education lawsuits show the extent of the administration's efforts to destroy this office:

OCR lost 299 employees after the March staff reductions, but the majority (247) remain on temporary paid administrative leave due to the lawsuit. A further 137 personnel were cut as a result of the October force drawdown, which was suspended by a federal judge. Under the new government funding agreement, those 137 employees must be reinstated until at least January 30.

According to the department's own data, this means that only 62 of OCR's current 446 employees have not received RIF notices. This is approximately 10% of the office. Number of more than 600 people in Januarywhen the second Trump administration began.

OCR and OSERS are prescribed federal law.

“I have to say, I’m just shocked that they can destroy an entire division of an organization created by charter.“,” said R. Shep Melnick, a professor of American politics at Boston College who has written about OCR for decades.

Unless the office is returned to its original staff, with at least enough attorneys to review and investigate individual discrimination complaints from families, Melnick says, OCR “will have to reinvent itself. And I fear that it will have to reinvent itself in such a way that it becomes just a political arm of the administration.”“

Despite staff reductions, the administration used OCR aggressively enforce their new interpretations of civil rights laws by going after school districts and colleges that continue to provide protections for transgender students or support diversity, equity and inclusion.