On Tuesday, 11 March, the Department of Education fired over 1,300 workers, nearly half of the department. Afterward, Linda McMahon told reports that legally-mandated employees, and programs protecting disabled students’ rights were not affected; however, that was a lie. In the same interview, she also revealed she did not know what IDEA stands for.
Federal work has some in-built protections to layoffs generally, but on top of that, some of the jobs removed yesterday are legally-mandated, making it illegal for those positions to be vacant.
The layoffs had a wide reach across departments, but it’s been confirmed that some of those removed were from OSERS, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
OSERS oversees and funds early intervention and IDEA law, various Vocational Rehabilitation programs, and special institutions like the American Printing House for the Blind, Helen Keller National center for DeafBlind, National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) and Gallaudet.
Without a functioning department for funding and advocating for these programs, they are in danger. With respect to Gallaudet, specifically, the university has some special protections due to its Charter, but it is not immune to cuts, and there is no specific amount of funding guaranteed.
Ultimately, this is no longer about debating various political policies anymore, but about returning to the rule of law.
Action Items
1. Don’t panic. There are currently many unknowns, which can be scary, but instead of spiraling you can–
2. Call your senator. Tell them to vote NO on the budget resolution until those who are illegally fired are reinstated, and there are guardrails in place to revoke financial control to DOGE and return it to Congress, as it says in the Constitution.
The Senate Democrats have leverage at this moment, because bipartisan effort will be required to pass the bill by Friday, so please let Senators, especially Democratic Senators know it’s past time to stand up for the rule of law.
3. If you are in DMV area, there will be a protest outside the Department of Education building tomorrow (Thursday the 13th) starting at 1PM. Show up if you can.
4. Spread the word. Not only will these actions harm children and society overall, but they are illegal. People in power are not above the law in this or any context.