Trump's New Layoffs Hurt Disabled Kids
Recently, the federal Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) underwent significant layoffs, with all but two senior staff members receiving reduction-in-force notices.
"This is absolutely a violation of federal law."
Approximately 460 people across the Department of Education received RIF notices, which is roughly one in five workers in the agency. The OSEP's responsibilities include distributing funding connected to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which supports roughly 7.5 million disabled students on Individualized Education Plans (IEPs).
- The federal government is supposed to pay up to 40 percent of the costs of IEPs.
- The actual number is around 13 percent.
Author's summary: Trump's layoffs harm disabled kids' education funding.