Trump's Layoffs Harm Disabled Kids
The recent layoffs in the Department of Education have raised concerns about the impact on disabled students.
"This is absolutely a violation of federal law."
Last Friday, nearly all senior staff members in the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) received reduction-in-force notices, as part of a larger series of layoffs affecting 460 people across the Department of Education.
- OSEP is responsible for distributing funding connected to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
- The IDEA funds support roughly 7.5 million disabled students on Individualized Education Plans (IEPs).
- The federal government is supposed to cover up to 40% of IEP costs, but currently only covers around 13%.
The layoffs have sparked concerns about the potential harm to disabled students who rely on these programs.
Author's summary: Trump's layoffs hurt disabled kids' education funding.