Please let your voice be known!! There is an attack on public education…there is an attack on a population of students…there is an attack on the rights of students with disabilities!!
Call your representatives…connect with disability rights organizations!! Preserve all documents!! If you do not have copies of your child’s special educational records ask your child’s district for copies of IEPs, evaluation reports, IEP progress reports, etc. These documents may be needed later for administrative or legal remedies.
There is a risk that the money to educate children with disabilities will not be given to the states & that their access to support & advocacy for children with disabilities will no longer continue because there is no staff available to administer IDEA.
Nearly all employees in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) have been fired. This includes employees in the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) which is one of the component offices under OSERS. This also includes employees in the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA). RSA houses disability employment programs such as state vocational rehabilitation programs. The Administration informed 95% of OSEP staff that their jobs will be eliminated within 60 days.
If you didn’t know all of the OSEP & RSA programs listed on the websites below are at risk.
https://www.ed.gov/about/ed-offices/osers/osep/osep-program-funded-activities
https://rsa.ed.gov/about/programs
Actions You Can Take
1. Email & call your members of Congress.
2. Email comments@whitehouse.gov & leave a message for the President to #ProtectChildrenWithDisabilities by restoring the OSEP staff who protect students’ rights & make sure states follow special education law. Tag the White House on social media @whitehouse with this message.
3. Join with friends & visit your Members of Congress and/or their staff in their local offices.
4. Use social media to connect with Members of Congress & contact your local media.
5. Connect with Disability Organizations.
Disability Organizations You Can Contact:
- Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA)-https://www.copaa.org/ & https://www.copaa.org/news/news.asp?id=712312
- CORE Principles to Protect and Support Students with Disabilities-New Deadline to Sign: Friday, October 31, 2025 Midnight/ET Shared Principles & Commitment To the Education of Children and Youth with Disabilities
- State Parent Training and Information (PTI) Centers-can use the link below to locate your state (PTI)-https://www.parentcenterhub.org/find-your-center/
- Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF)-https://dredf.org/
- The ARC-https://thearc.org// & https://action.thearc.org/BPzcfsy?p2asource=email-2025-1014
- National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS)-https://ndss.org/
- National Down Syndrome Congress-https://ndsccenter.org/policy/action-center/
- National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD)-https://ncld.org/
USA Today Article-Education Department wipes out special ed office in shutdown layoffs, union says