Some good news, some bad news this week, and an important reminder that putting pressure on elected officials still works.
- Three Current Bills in Congress Seek to Dismantle the Department of Education
– HR 899 “To Terminate the Department of Education” Rep. Massey (KY)
– HR 369 “To Provide for the Elimination of The Department of Education, and for Other Purposes” Rep. Rouzer (NC)
– S 5384 “Returning Education to our States Act” Sen. Rounds (SD)
Eliminating DoED would have devastating consequences in funding and oversight for all students, but especially at underfunded (Title 1) schools, and for disabled children everywhere who require the protection of IDEA law to attend school and receive accommodations. - Date Set for Linda McMahon’s Senate HELP Committee Hearing. Trump nominated former Pro-Wrestling Executive McMahon to be the Secretary of DoED. A draft of his EO ordering the dismantling of the department from within was floated last week. Inside sources say it is on hold until McMahon is confirmed.
The HELP committee is 11 GOP-12 Dem, with Murkowski and Collins as potential pressure points The hearing is 13 February at 562 Dirksen Senate Office Building. - Memorandum “Further Guidance Ending DEIA Offices, Programs and Initiatives” The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a 5 February memorandum doubling down on Trump’s previous anti-DEIA executive orders within the federal workforce.
One notable exception was OPM directed the bare minimum must be done to comply with the Rehabilitation act of 1973, which should protect some accommodations for disabled employees. However, the memo continues to dismantle DEIA programming, affinity groups, Special Emphasis Programs and directs agencies ignore the rights of protected classes in favor of Executive demands. - States Take Dismantling Education into Their Own Hands
Alabama HB197 seeks to “investigate” and fine parents who file complaints under IDEA’s due process procedures, and makes it harder to recover legal fees if a family wins their case.
Indiana SB 0473 includes changes to operations of the state’s Center for Deaf/Hard of Hearing Education, prioritizing spoken language over bilingual ASL/English, and all communication modalities and options for families. The bill text is currently being revised, so keep an eye on this. - Congresspeople, Advocates and Others Locked out of the Department of Education. On February 7, members of Congress and other advocates attempted to enter DoED, but the doors were locked and security refused them entry. Reports are conflicting on who the security agents report to. At one point, armed federal agents appeared on-scene.
Sources inside DoEd say the doors are not supposed to be locked and people are typically free to approach the front desk. Authorized contract workers were also barred entry.It remains unclear at the time of this writing why access has been restricted. - Healthcare Head Start Organizations Experience Funding Delays as Congress Floats More Cuts. Community healthcare centers, “safety net” hospitals, and Head Start providers failed to receive their funding due to a lag in the system after last week’s freeze. Some were forced to close their doors.
This comes as the House Budget Committee seeks to cut hundreds of billions of dollars from the domestic budget and reallocate it to the defense budget, to support Trump’s deportation and border enforcement escalations. Medicaid and SNAP, healthcare and food assistance programs for low-income and/or disabled folks, are targeted for the deepest cuts. - Senate Committee Advances RFK Jr. in the Nomination Process. RFK Jr’s anti-scientific, anti-vaccine, and eugenicist views put everyone in danger, and will be especially harmful to disabled people.
Additionally, Project 2025 and S 5384 propose that in the event of DoED’s closure, IDEA oversight goes to HHS, giving RFK Jr. control over disabled children’s educational rights and funding.
Antivax movements have been spending a lot of time and money on RFK’s advancement, and opponents are being outspent and outcalled. - A Little Good News: Oklahoma’s SB 1017 is Withdrawn. Oklahoma’s SB 1017 attempted to remove “related services” for disabled students from IEPS and school grounds. This would have included Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and other educational and medical and therapeutic supports.
Due to pressure from the community, this bill was withdrawn! Calling and writing your reps can still work, and is especially effective at local levels.
What to Do?
Share this info. Disability is often lost in mainstream coverage.
- Contact Senators Collins and Murkowski and ask them to vote NO on McMahon’s nomination. Deadlocking the committee or blocking the nomination may slow down attacks on DoED. You can contact a Senator who isn’t yours in their capacity as a committee member, as long as you are honest that you are not their constituent.
- Write/call your Senator to vote NO on confirming RFK Jr. Senators are hearing loudly from the other side on this, and we need to even the count.
- Write/call your Congresspeople and tell them to protect the Department of Education and Medicaid.
- Keep an eye on your state legislatures and make sure they are not complying in advance!
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Tools and Resources:
Use the 5 Calls App for easy phone call contact and scripts
Text, fax, or email using Resist.bot
For D/HH Folks: Call Senators by VP, or try the Nagish App for captioned calls, text relay or VCO calls.