Trump lays off employees in department funding special education : NPR

The sweeping layoffs announced Friday by the Trump administration dealt another major blow to the U.S. Department of Education, this time eliminating the department responsible for overseeing special education, according to multiple department sources.

The reduction in force, or RIF, will affect dozens of employees responsible for approximately $15 billion dollars to fund special education, and to ensure that states provide special education services to the nation's 7.5 million children with disabilities.

“This is destroying the office responsible for protecting the rights of infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities,” said one department official who, like others NPR spoke with, wished to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation.

The RIF laid off all Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) employees on Friday, except for a few senior officials and support staff, sources said. The office is the central nervous system of programs supporting students with disabilities, not only offering guidance to families, but also providing monitoring and oversight to states to ensure they are complying with the landmark Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

In total, 466 people were laid off in the Department of Education. part of wider cuts – about 4,200 jobs – announced by government lawyers in a court filing on Friday as shutdown continues.

The Education Department is unclear exactly how many employees in the special education department have been cut. Department officials did not respond to NPR's requests for clarification or comment.

“Based on numerous reports from employees and their supervisors, we believe that all remaining Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) employees, including the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), were wrongfully terminated,” said Rachel Gittleman, president of AFGE Local 252, the union that represents many employees of the Department of Education.

“The damage these cuts will do to 7.5 million disabled students across the country is just beginning,” Gittelman added.

Employees who received notice on Friday were told they would remain on the job until Dec. 9.

Protecting students with disabilities

NPR spoke with a half-dozen federal workers who were laid off, all of them from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, as well as former officials with close ties to the Office of Special Education.

Special education officials described a host of key responsibilities they feared could now go unfulfilled, creating a painful void for states, school districts and families.

Federal law known as IDEA who turned 50 this yearguarantees all children with disabilities the right to a free and appropriate public education. Before the law was passed, these children were often denied admission to schools, including public schools, or placed in low-quality institutions where they received little learning and limited rights.

IDEA is considered primarily a civil rights law, requiring states to provide special education services for children from birth to age 21. It also helps fund these services.

The law requires states to provide student data to OSERS staff each year to prove they are complying with the law. States must also submit annual plans and apply for billions of dollars each year through IDEA to help them pay for special education.

OSERS staff review these state plans, analyze the data, and ensure they comply with federal law. These employees can initiate investigations against states if they believe they have intentionally or unintentionally violated requirements. They also provide technical assistance to states.

Without these OSERS staff, one staffer told NPR, “there will be no oversight to ensure that all children with disabilities receive the services to which they are entitled.”

OSERS staff also field calls directly from parents and families across the country asking for help understanding their child's rights under federal disability law, and in some cases seeking help when they are concerned that they are being wrongfully denied services.

“I don't think people realize how many calls we get from parents and families every day,” one affected worker told NPR. Now these calls will go unanswered.

Returning education to the states

President Trump has repeatedly spoken about his desire to bring education back to the states and that dismantling the education department is part of this plan.

At this time, laying off these employees does not result in a reduction in special education funding to states.

But one state special education director, who spoke to NPR on condition of anonymity due to concerns that the government could retaliate against the state, said they are concerned about the impact on students and families.

“I'm afraid. I think it's good for states to know that there is federal oversight and that they will be held accountable,” the official said. “The idea of ​​leaving special education to the states sounds great, but it's scary. What happens if one state decides to interpret the law one way and another state disagrees and interprets it differently?”

Many sources have also questioned the legality of the OSERS cuts. Federal law requires that the U.S. Department of Education maintain an Office of Special Education Programs to administer and oversee special education funding and programs. Thus, effectively closing the office by laying off its employees would therefore require an act of Congress, these sources said.

“Now the federal government is not enforcing the federal disability law,” one OSERS employee told NPR. Another asked: “Who will families go to when there is no one left?”