Disability Rights Watch

Category: Education

Information about your educational rights under the ADA, IDEA and more.

  • Breaking: Email from McMahon to Dept of Ed. Declares “One Final Mission”

    Breaking: Email from McMahon to Dept of Ed. Declares “One Final Mission”

    From: McMahon, Linda

    Sent: Monday, March 3, 2025 9:29 PM

    Subject: Our Department’s Final Mission

    When I took the oath of office as Secretary of Education, I accepted responsibility for overseeing the U.S. Department of Education and those who work here. But more importantly, I took responsibility for supporting over 100 million American children and college students who are counting on their education to create opportunity and prepare them for a rewarding career I want to do right by both.

    As you are all aware, President Trump nominated me to take the lead on one of his most momentous campaign promises to families. My vision is aligned with the President’s: to send education back to the states and empower all parents to choose an excellent education for their children. As a mother and grandmother, I know there is nobody more qualified than a parent to make educational decisions for their children. I also started my career studying to be a teacher, and as a Connecticut Board of Education member and college trustee, I have long held that teaching is the most noble of professions. As a businesswoman, I know the power of education to prepare workers for fulfilling careers.

    American education can be the greatest in the world. It ought not to be corrupted by political ideologies, special interests, and unjust discrimination. Parents, teachers, and students alike deserve better.

    After President Trump’s inauguration last month, he steadily signed a slate of executive orders to keep his promises: combatting critical race theory, DEI, gender ideology, discrimination in admissions, promoting school choice for every child, and restoring patriotic education and civics. He has also been focused on eliminating waste, red tape, and harmful programs in the federal government. The Department of Education’s role in this new era of accountability is to restore the rightful role of state oversight in education and to end the overreach from Washington.

    This restoration will profoundly impact staff, budgets, and agency operations here at the Department. In coming months, we will partner with Congress and other federal agencies to determine the best path forward to fulfill the expectations of the President and the American people. We will eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy so that our colleges, K-12 schools, students, and teachers can innovate and thrive.

    This review of our programs is long overdue. The Department of Education is not working as intended. Since its establishment in 1980, taxpayers have entrusted the department with over $ 1 trillion, yet student outcomes have consistently languished. Millions of young Americans are trapped in failing schools, subjected to radical anti-American ideology, or saddled with college debt for a degree that has not provided a meaningful return on their investment. Teachers are leaving the profession in droves after just a few years- -and citing red tape as one of their primary reasons.

    The reality of our education system is stark, and the American people have elected President Trump to make significant changes in Washington. Our job is to respect the will of the American people and the President they elected, who has tasked us with accomplishing the elimination of bureaucratic bloat here at the Department of Education -a momentous final mission- quickly and responsibly.

    As I’ve learned many times throughout my career, disruption leads to innovation and gets results. We must start thinking about our final mission at the department as an overhaul-a last chance to restore the culture of liberty and excellence that made American education great. Changing the status quo can be daunting. But every staff member of this Department should be enthusiastic about any change that will benefit students.

    True change does not happen overnight – especially the historic overhaul of a federal agency. Over the coming months, as we work hard to carry out the President’s directives, we will focus on a positive vision for what American education can be.

    These are our convictions:

    1. Parents are the primary decision makers in their children’s education.
    2. Taxpayer-funded education should refocus on meaningful learning in math, reading, science, and history–not divisive DEI programs and gender ideology.
    3. Postsecondary education should be a path to a well-paying career aligned with workforce needs.
    4. Removing red tape and bureaucratic barriers will empower parents to make the best educational choices for their children. An effective transfer of educational oversight to the states will mean more autonomy for local communities. Teachers, too, will benefit from less micromanagement in the classroom- enabling them to get back to basics.

    I hope each of you will embrace this vision going forward and use these convictions as a guide for conscientious and pragmatic action. The elimination of bureaucracy should free US, not limit us, in our pursuit of these goals.

    I want to invite all employees to join us in this historic final mission on behalf of all students, with the same dedication and excellence that you have brought to your careers as public servants.

    This is our opportunity to perform one final, unforgettable public service to future generations of students. I hope you will join me in ensuring that when our final mission is complete, we will all be able to say that we left American education freer, stronger, and with more hope for the future.

    Sincerely,

    Linda McMahon

    Secretary of Education

    ID: Printout of email from McMahon.

  • Resources: Tracking Changes at the U.S. Department of Education and State Levels

    Resources: Tracking Changes at the U.S. Department of Education and State Levels

    The US Department of Education is an essential source of funding and oversight for all US students, but particularly for those with disabilities.

    If you want more information about the functions of DoED and recent attacks, visit our explainer here. For a flyer with a QR code linking back to that information, go here.

    Or, keep up to date on all the changes at DoED (inclusive of, but not limited to those affecting disabled people) at this spreadsheet, courtesy the volunteer Save Public Education. They’re currently in the process of building the website departmentofedtracker.com, but for now, the spreadsheet remains up-to-date!

    Click on the image to view the Google Doc

    ID: Screenshot of Google Sheets titled “US Dept of Education Updates.”

    Resource: State-Level Proposals and Policies Affecting Education

    States legislatures are capitalizing on ableist and anti-education sentiments in the White House to make their own attacks on local systems.

    Use Fighting for my Voice’s Policy Change Tracker to read the text of state bills, explainers, and suggestions for action items.

  • Week 5 Update

    Week 5 Update

    1. Linda McMahon’s DoED Nomination Advances
      • The HELP Committee voted along party lines, advancing Linda McMahon to the full Senate for her confirmation as Secretary of DoED.
      • Trump has promised major cuts to the department via Executive Order once McMahon is in place.
      • Three active bills to abolish the department are also currently in Congress.
      • DoED funds and oversees a variety of disability-specific programs and grants, and protects disabled students rights to attend public schools. Read our full explainer on DoED here.
    2. Funding Cuts for DoED Now at $502 Million and Counting
    3. Mass Layoffs Hit Disabled Veterans Hard
    4. Texas vs. Beccera Lawsuit on Hold; AGs Refuse to Come Clean about Scope of the Complaint
      • On Wednesday, involved parties wrote to the judge asking for more time to evaluate their case, and claiming they did not seek to declare Section 504 unconstitutional.
      • The letter still takes aim at Final Rule’s spending guidance for independent living, which could affect disabled people’s rights to live in-community. They also continue to use transphobic rhetoric to attack Final Rule.
      • Despite reassurances, the original filing does explicitly ask for 504 to be declared unconstitutional (p 37-42). We also should not make concessions on basic rights for any humans. See all our Texas v. Beccera resources here.
    5. House Budget Takes Aim at Medicaid, SNAP
      • The House presented a budget bill that would require $880 billion in cuts from the Energy and Commerce Committee, who oversees Medicaid. Medicaid provides healthcare for 70 million disabled and low-income Americans,
      • On Wednesday, Trump endorsed the bill, after previously saying he wouldn’t touch the program.
      • SNAP, the program that provides financial assistance specifically for buying food, is also under threat.
    6. Executive Order “Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies”
      • Consolidates power under the President by taking it away from independent agencies. Says the President has the final say, including budgetary, over all parts of the Executive branch.
      • From a disability perspective, the future of the Federal Communications Commission is of concern. The FCC currently oversees and disburses funds for things like closed captions, captioned phone calls and text and video relay.
      • This move is a key tenet of Project 2025. Expanding the powers of the President and weakening checks and balances is dangerous for the health of any democracy.
    7. Threats to Special Education at the State Level
      • Indiana HB 1136 appoints state governing boards over local community boards, and targets schools for charter conversion, which could harm disabled students’ services and weaken IEP oversight.
      • Alabama State 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.
      • See our friends at Fighting for My Voice for a state-level education policy tracker
    8. Some Good News
      • After feedback from advocates, Indiana’s SB473 was revised to include ASL and all language options for deaf children’s early intervention programming. Previously the bill protected spoken language only.
      • Connecticut’s State Legislature is expected to approve $40 million in additional funds for special education in a vote next week

    Take Action

    • Share this info. Disability is often lost in mainstream coverage.
    • Call your Senator and ask them to vote NO on the McMahon nomination and protect DoED.
    • If your state is involved, contact your Attorney General and ask them to drop out of Texas v. Beccera. Tell them you stand in solidarity with all disabled people, as well as trans folks. If your state isn’t involved, you can still call and ask them to protect Section 504.
    • Write/call your Congresspeople and tell them to fight for Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP, and Social Security. Entitlements are taxpayer money!
    • Keep an eye on your state legislatures and make sure they are not complying in advance!

    #ProtectADA for community sharing, news, letter templates and more

  • What’s going on with the US Department of Education?

    What’s going on with the US Department of Education?

    Last Updated 3.10.2025

    In the news:

    President Trump has repeatedly promised to close the Department of Education, including at his September 2024 rally in Pennsylvania, and later on a Fox and Friends interview. He reiterated the plan when he nominated former WWE executive Linda McMahon to head the department. This plan can also be found in Project 2025.

    Closing the Department of Education(DoED) legally would take an act of Congress. There are now currently 3 active bills that seek to dismantle it:
    – 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)

    The bills differ in their plans for the department’s functions. S 5384 relocates certain programs to other departments following Project 2025’s outlines, while HR 899’s entire text is one sentence: “The Department of Education shall terminate on December 31, 2026.”

    President Trump also drafted an Executive Order designed to gut DoED. He initially planned to sign last Thursday, but pulled out due to backlash.

    Elon Musk’s DOGE team cancelled most of DoED’s research in February. The Institute of Education Services (IES) is an office within DoED that funds research grants. Most or all of their grants have been cut.

    AEM Education Services, a contractor of the Office of Special Ed and Rehabilitative Services(OSERS) within DoED, also had their contracts suddenly cancelled on Tuesday, February 11th. AEM’s provides data analysis to determine where IDEA –the law that protects disabled students rights at school–funding should go. Without this data, states may not receive their IDEA-related grants, making it difficult for them to execute IEPs and services.

    What Does DoED Actually Do?

    Founded by President Carter, DoED serves 4 essential functions:

    1. Dispersing federal aid, like Pell grants and related FAFSA financial support for students attending college.
    2. Collecting and sharing data, research, and training materials: DoED conducts studies on teaching methods and shares that information with schools across the country.
    3. Choosing and advocating for key national educational issues, like the “Common Core” about things students should be able to do at a given grade level. For example: a reading standard for a first grader wouldn’t dictate what books a teacher should use, but says a student should be able to, “identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.” 
    4. Preventing discrimination and ensuring equal access to education:
      – DoED makes sure all K-12 students have access to “Free and Appropriate Public Education” (FAPE) by enforcing the law known as IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). Through grants to districts, DoED also pays some IDEA-related costs through grants, though this varies from district to district. Under IDEA, a disabled child is entitled to accommodation and an Individual Education Plan, or IEP.

      If a school violates the IEP or the child’s right to education, it is with DoED that parents file a complaint. (Sometimes families are told to file an additional complaint to the Office of Civil Rights under the Department of Justice, but this Office is also frozen under the current administration.”

      – DoED disburses funds to a variety of deaf and disability-centered programming through the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) as well as institutions like Gallaudet University, National Technical Institute for the Deaf, the American Printing House for the Blind, Special Olympics, Helen Keller National Center for the DeafBlind and more.

      – DoED provides supplemental funding to underserved K-12 schools, known as “Title 1 schools,” in situations where state and local funding is inadequate. These schools often serve rural populations, as well as BIPOC-majority areas, and disabled students here are at already multiply marginalized.

    What the Dept. of Education Doesn’t Do

    Supporters of abolishing DoED often say they want to give control of education “back to the states.” But education content is already in state control.

    DoED does NOT regulate specific content or curriculum. States and local school boards decide things like what textbooks, novels or other curriculum items a school district uses.

    What happens to IDEA and IEPs Without DoED?

    We’re not sure, exactly, whether IDEA enforcement will be moved to another department, or whether the administration will attempt to stop enforcement. As the administration is currently in contempt of several judicial orders about the constitutionality of their orders, depending solely on hope in the rule of law is not advisable.

    IDEA is currently enforced by complaints to DoED and the Department of Justice’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR). Leaving parents without those avenues when districts don’t provide access leaves families without recourse, rendering IEPs less than binding.

    Even if the programming is spared moved to another department, the transition would be rocky and lots of expert knowledge and policy guidance would be lost. It would be up to that new agency what kind of resources should be dedicated to IDEA enforcement. For example, if IDEA is saved and moved to HHS, it would be up to RFK Jr. to decide what happens to IDEA enforcement. Kennedy has supported anti-vax conspiracies about autism, echoed eugenicist philosophy, and suggested people with substance abuse disorders and folks who take prescription drugs, such as ADHD medication be sent to “wellness camps” to do outdoor labor.

    How Can I Take Action to Save DoED?

    1. Call your representatives and tell them to protect the Department of Education. While Trump and McMahon can do a lot of damage via layoffs and executive orders, it will take an act of congress to fully dismantle the department. Tell your representatives you support DoEd, and sign on to Rep. Hayes proposed HR 433 Department of Education Protection Act.

    Share this Information!

    Many people, especially those following only mainstream or conservative media, are missing this information, but the Department of Education protects everyone’s rights. Print out this flyer and spread the word around town!

    Does Your Child Have a 504 Plan or IEP at School FlyerDownload

  • What’s the Deal with the Section 504 Lawsuit?

    What’s the Deal with the Section 504 Lawsuit?

    ID: ASL interpreted version of DREDF Texas vs. Beccera, courtesy DREDF.org

    Section 504 is a civil rights statute that says any entity that gets money from the federal government (funding, grants, etc.) cannot discriminate on the basis of disability. It is part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 law. This protection impacts education, healthcare, immigration services, child services, emergency services, clinical research, private companies who get federal grants, and all federal agencies and buildings.

    Many people are most familiar with Section 504 through the use of 504 Plans to support disabled students at school. 504 Plans provide accommodations in public school settings like ASL interpreters, closed captions, ramps, preferential seating, extra time on tests, quiet testing environments, access to braille, audiobooks, FM systems, speech-to-text and AAC devices, and more.

    Section 504 is a kind of statute known as a “spending clause.” There are also other civil rights spending clauses that protect people from discrimination on the basis of race and sex.

    In 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued some updated guidance on Section 504. These are called the “Final Rule.” The pandemic revealed extreme inequities in healthcare remain–like hospitals denying lifesaving care on the basis of disability–so the Final Rule clarified who must follow 504, and what it means in the time of the internet. The Final Rule says 504 protection covers include all doctors and healthcare offices that accept Medicaid or Medicare, and their medical equipment, telehealth and websites. It also impacts programs for child services and independent living.

    What is Texas vs. Becerra?

    Texas vs. Becerra is a lawsuit with two main parts. One part asks the judge to strike down the Final Rule. The other part asks the judge to declare Section 504 as a whole unconstitutional and stope its enforcement.

    Isn’t There Something to Do with Trans Folks in the Suit?

    Sort of! The TLDR is that biased Attorneys Generals are using transphobia as a cover to get others to join in on their ableism. Jump down to the last section on this page to read more about the misconceptions.

    What Would Happen if These States Win?

    If the states succeed in striking down the Final Rule, disabled people’s enumerated protections under 504 will be taken back to what they were fifty years ago, without accounting for the internet, mobile devices, pandemic healthcare and more. Disabled people’s rights to live independently in-community would be impacted.

    If the states succeed in having the entirety of Section 504 declared unconstitutional, all protections will be lost, including in education.

    504 and the ADA, as well as other protective spending clauses, are linked in the way they’re enforced, so striking down 504 could endanger the enforcement mechanisms of the ADA as well.

    This would also be a dangerous legal precedent for other spending clauses, like anti-race and sex based discrimination. It could set the stage for those protections to be declared unconstitutional, too.

    Take Action: What Can We Do?

    Seventeen states are currently signed on to Texas vs. Beccera.

    Image of the US with involved states in pink. MT, UT, SD, NE, KS, TX, AK, LA, AR, MO, IN, AL, GA, FL, SC,WV. Image courtesy DREDF,org

    If you live in one of the 17 states signed onto this case, contact your Attorney General today. Let them know attacking the Final Rule and Section 504 is not ok, and ask them to drop out of the lawsuit. Here are scripts you can use while contacting your AG.

    If you don’t live in one of these states, you can still contact your Attorney General. Progressive AGs can watch this litigation, file an amicus brief and more.

    Here is contact information for all 50 Attorneys General

    What if my Attorney General Tells me the Case is Inactive, or Doesn’t Really Attack Section 504?

    Push back on misinformation and disinformation!

    “This is a case about gender dysphoria.” The preamble to the Final Rule document mentions the ongoing legal inquiry into whether gender dysphoria can be classified a disability. There are currently several other court cases examining this question, and courts are split on it. The original 504 statute does not protect folks with gender dysphoria, and though Final Rule discussions mention the ongoing question in the courts, it makes no enforceable determination, or policy guidance within the text of Final Rule itself. This is political spin used to rally conservatives to the suit. However, it is important to note that there are trans disabled folks, and that the disability community stands with all LGBTQ+ folks. You can read HHS’s Final Rule document here.

    “This case only takes issue with a small part of the Rule.” The suit has multiple parts. One part attacks the Final Rule, and one part explicitly asks the judge to declare all of Section 504 unconstitutional. Point your AG to page 37 of the complaint, under the heading “Count 3: Section 504 is Unconstitutional.” The full text of the complaint is here.

    “The case is inactive.” The case is not inactive. The case has been paused until February 25th, 2025 in the wake of the new administrative transition. The DOJ and other involved parties are required to provide a status update on that day.

    Screenshot of pg 37 of the complaint with the header “Count 3: Section 504 is Unconstitutional”

    Need to fact-check something else? Disability Rights and Education Defense Fund has a great FAQ document here, as well as many other resources about this and other attacks on their site: www.dredf.org


    Spread the Word!

    The media isn’t reporting much on this case. Download our flyer and share it, especially offline. Disability affects people of every race, class, age, sex, gender, national origin, political affiliation and religion. People who aren’t spending much time on social media also need this info, and we are all stronger together.

    Does Your Child Have a 504 Plan or IEP at School FlyerDownload
    Do You or a Loved One Have a DisabilityDownload