Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) implemented massive layoffs, directly affecting the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Seven out of twelve regional OCR offices have now been permanently closed. This includes major hubs in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.
The OCR has traditionally investigated discrimination complaints, enforcing federal civil rights laws and ensuring schools provide necessary accommodations and equal access to education for students with disabilities.
The OCR was already facing significant staffing shortages and shifting enforcement priorities, diverting resources away from critical investigations into disability-related discrimination toward issues that are politically aligned with President Trump’s agenda. With these new layoffs reducing staff by nearly half, it will now become nearly impossible for OCR to thoroughly investigate and resolve discrimination complaints, significantly undermining civil rights protections for students with disabilities.
The proposed transfer of enforcement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) from the DOE to agencies such as Health and Human Services (HHS) or even the Department of Justice (DOJ) is deeply problematic for several reasons:
- HHS and DOJ themselves are already experiencing significant staffing cuts of their own, with HHS offering buyouts to most of its 80,000 employees and the DOJ planning to significantly reduce its public corruption unit.
- Moving IDEA oversight away from the DOE could fragment accountability, complicating coordination between federal oversight, state education departments, and individual schools, ultimately weakening protections and creating confusion at the local level.
- Enforcement of IDEA requires specialized knowledge of educational contexts, administrative structures, and nuanced relationships between school districts, students, and families—expertise that currently resides uniquely within the DOE.
The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), a division of the DOE, is specifically designed to provide leadership and financial support to assist states and local districts in delivering appropriate education to children with disabilities. OSEP’s mission includes ensuring that the rights of these children—and their parents—are protected.
The Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF) released a statement yesterday strongly opposing these efforts, emphasizing that dismantling the DOE jeopardizes the core mission of ensuring equal educational access for students with disabilities. You can read their statement here.
At TypeWell, we’re committed to raising awareness about these urgent developments. Please share your comments and stories with us, and follow us on Bluesky and LinkedIn.
What You Can Do Now
If you’re concerned about these changes and want to take immediate action:
- Contact your Congressional Representatives: Use 5calls.org to easily find contact information and voice your opposition.
- Share Information: Amplify awareness by sharing credible news articles and statements from advocacy groups like DREDF and the ones listed below.
- Engage with Local Boards of Education: Ask your local school district how they plan to uphold civil rights protections for students with disabilities in the absence of robust federal oversight. Join your local school board or attend their public meetings.
Together we must effectively advocate for continued accessibility and equity in education.
Sources
Binkley, C. & Hollingsworth, H. (2025, March 11). An office known for enforcing special education is now focused on Trump’s political priorities. APNews.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20250311043415/https://apnews.com/article/education-department-civil-rights-special-education-antisemitism-764c1298a4ba856ce793249cdb57e6d6
Cohen, J.S. & Smith Richards, J. (2025, March 12). Massive Layoffs at the Department of Education Erode Its Civil Rights Division. ProPublica.org. https://web.archive.org/web/20250312153025/https://www.propublica.org/article/education-department-civil-rights-division-eroded-by-massive-layoffs
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund. (2025, March 11). DREDF Denounces Attempts to Dismantle the Department of Education [Press release]. DREDF.org. https://web.archive.org/web/20250312185201/https://dredf.org/dredf-denounces-attempts-to-dismantle-the-department-of-education/
Durkin Richer, A. & Tucker, E. (2025, March 11). Justice Department is expected to slash public corruption unit, AP sources say. APNews.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20250312060645/https://apnews.com/article/justice-department-public-corruption-unit-cuts-4123347b1ffe4a0f3c681e49a15ab4ca
Gardner, T., Reid, T., Alper, A., & Taylor, M. (2025, March 12). US Education Department to cut half its staff as Trump eyes its elimination. Reuters.com. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-agencies-offer-staff-new-buyouts-ahead-trumps-layoff-deadline-2025-03-11/
Highlighter Solutions. (2025, July 16). How Does Your State Stackup? What You Need to Know About IDEA Implementation for the 2024-2025 School Year. UseHighlighter.com. https://www.usehighlighter.com/post/how-does-your-state-stackup-what-you-need-to-know-about-idea-implementation-for-the-2024-2025-schoo
National Council on Disability. (2025, February 8). IDEA Series: Federal Monitoring and Enforcement of IDEA Compliance. ncd.gov. https://web.archive.org/web/20250221190520/https://www.ncd.gov/assets/uploads/docs/ncd-monitoring-enforcement-accessible.pdf
Seitz, A. (2025, March 9). Top US health agency makes $25,000 buyout offer to most of its employees. APNews.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20250310024618/https://apnews.com/article/hhs-employee-buyouts-kennedy-cdc-nih-medicaid-bf5a746518b2b3fe967ab95a8e2a1a65
Smith Richards, J. & Cohen, J.S. (2025, February 13). “We’ve Been Essentially Muzzled”: Department of Education Halts Thousands of Civil Rights Investigations Under Trump. ProPublica.org. https://web.archive.org/web/20250308020127/https://www.propublica.org/article/department-of-education-civil-rights-office-investigations
Vazquez Toness, B. (2025, March 12). The Education Department was created to ensure equal access. Who would do that in its absence? APNews.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20250312183041/https://apnews.com/article/trump-education-department-layoffs-closure-c7cddd1dbf310dadcd70e003d62a6df0