The nation’s special education services have been significantly impacted after Friday’s mass layoffs within the Department of Education and it could have an immediate impact on children with disabilities, education department sources told ABC News.
one education department leader told ABC News.
The education department leader called the layoffs to this division “ridiculous,” contending that families of special needs students will be harmed.
But the education department leader told ABC News that the latest RIF flies in the face of McMahon’s pledges.
Meanwhile, the education department leader predicts remaining staff within the special education division will not be equipped to take on the responsibility of those who were fired.
According to education department sources who spoke to ABC News, Friday’s mass layoffs within the Department of Education have had a significant impact on the country’s special education services and may have an immediate effect on children with disabilities.
“Do people realize that this is happening to this population of vulnerable students?” a leader of the education department asked ABC News.
The source, who wished to remain anonymous out of concern for reprisals, went on to say, “[If] there is no staff, who the heck is going to administer this program? That’s the absurdity of this.”.
The head of the department emphasized that over the weekend, a number of workers were laid off from the Rehabilitative Services Administration and the Office of Special Education Programs, which together comprise the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS).
The agency provides approximately $15 billion in funding for special education services and enforces the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which establishes a free and appropriate education for children with disabilities.
Declaring the layoffs to this division “ridiculous,” the head of the education department argued that families of students with special needs would suffer.
The department head pointed out that “there is a risk that the state will not receive the funding to educate their children, and that their access to advocacy and support for their children with special needs will no longer continue because there is no staff available to administer IDEA.”.
The smallest cabinet-level organization in the United States is the education department. S. government.
The department employed just over 4,000 people at the beginning of the Trump administration. This year, the agency was reduced by almost half as a result of buyouts, early retirements, voluntary separations, and a reduction in force.
The offices of Communications and Outreach, Elementary and Secondary Education, and other divisions have reportedly been completely destroyed once more, according to multiple sources.
The largest union representing federal employees, the American Federation of Government Employees, filed a lawsuit alleging that the education department RIFed 466 workers, or at least 20% of the agency’s workforce, during the shutdown.
According to AFGE Local 252 president Rachel Gittleman, all OSERS offices below the senior executive services level were RIFed on Friday.
“The harm to K-12 students and schools nationwide, which are already feeling the effects of a hamstring Office for Civil Rights (OCR) from the March RIF, is doubled down by the OSERS and OESE RIF,” she said.
Many in the special education offices were surprised to learn about the RIF shutdown. The source with knowledge of the RIF claims that the workers who lost their jobs are inconsolable.
ABC News was also informed by sources in the education department that states may be negatively impacted by the job cuts.
According to one source, “the Department of Education can no longer administer IDEA if this RIF notice is carried out.”. “I lack the personnel to disburse the funds and keep an eye on the states. “,”.
IDEA preservation is one of the main concerns of those opposing the Trump administration’s plans to close the agency, ABC News reported. On Capitol Hill, it enjoys bipartisan support and is a statutory program required by law.
In an effort to allay worries, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, whose goal is to restore authority and responsibility for education to the state and local levels, has declared that the department will continue to fully fund and implement all of the programs mandated by statute.
The head of the education department, however, told ABC News that McMahon’s promises are contradicted by the most recent RIF.
According to the source, “She’s consistently said she’ll protect IDEA.”. “Well,” she said, “if they’re firing the team, this isn’t protecting IDEA.” “What is she doing with IDEA? Who’s going to administer it?”.
ABC News contacted the Department of Education for comment, but they did not immediately respond.
According to President Trump, the Department of Health and Human Services during Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. will manage the students’ nutrition and special needs programs; however, that transfer has not yet taken place.
The head of the education department anticipates that the remaining personnel in the special education division will not be prepared to assume the responsibilities of the fired individuals.
It’s like you just don’t do that,” the leader remarked. “That’s like taking a surgeon and telling them you’re now a brick layer or telling a brick layer you’re now a surgeon.”. It’s simply ridiculous. “.”.
