In a sweeping move, the Trump Administration’s U.S. Department of Education (US ED) has wiped out the office in charge of special education, firing nearly everyone in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in a wave of new layoffs that began Friday, according to USA Today and ABC News. On Friday, the U.S. Department of Education laid off over 460 employees, dramatically reducing the workforce of a beleaguered agency that is already struggling to serve students on the heels of massive cuts.

US ED is responsible for enforcing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the law creating a free and appropriate education for children with disabilities, and funds special education services to the tune of around $15 billion annually across states.

A whistleblower and leader at US ED told ABC:

"Do people realize that this is happening to this population of vulnerable students?... [If] there's no staff, who the heck is going to administer this program? That's the absurdity of this… There is a risk that the money to educate their children will not be given to the state, and that their access to support and advocacy for their children with special needs will no longer continue because there is no staff available to administer IDEA.”

Please urge your members of Congress to speak up in opposition to these draconian cuts to special education services and protections in the U.S. Dept of Education (US ED) and to work to restore these cuts so that children are not harmed. Our students deserve better from our federal government. We must collectively demand that the most vulnerable student populations be protected.