Children with disabilities swept up in DEI fight, advocates say
Children with disabilities are getting swept up in the Trump administration's crusade against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and its push to end the Education Department, advocates say.
So far, the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) biggest contract canceled at the Department of Education involved analyzing programs for students with disabilities, and the same DEI programs President Trump is seeking to outlaw often provide accommodations for disabled students.
DEI is also sometimes presented as DEIA, with the last letter standing for accessibility.
“The whole reason students with disabilities are able to be in the classroom and get access to an equitable education is because of DEIA efforts,” said Robyn Linscott, director of education and family policy at the Arc of the United States, an advocacy group for individuals with disabilities.
“IDEA [the Individual with Disabilities in Education Act] says that students with disabilities have the right to be in an inclusive classroom to the greatest extent possible,” Linscott added, calling it "the heart" of the landmark legislation.
The latest information given by DOGE shows one of the biggest contracts cancelled at the Education Department was with the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and focused on “effectiveness of transition supports for youth with disabilities served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.”
AIR told The Hill their group is currently evaluating the Chart My Path for Future Success program that was created to help students with disabilities prepare for future employment and independent living after high school.
A lot of the money awarded to this contract went to training staff to implement initiatives that affect more than 1,000 students with disabilities, according to the organization. Districts have lost funding for the 61 positions created to support the programs.
The "first and only study of its kind" study AIR was conducting was intended to see how successful these students were post-high school, hoping to give more information on how to effectively transition students with disabilities to the workforce and higher education.
The Education Department has also ended $600 million in “divisive” teaching training grants that they say targeted DEI, critical race theory and other “woke” concepts.
“We have had a lot of teachers reaching out to us feeling very afraid because there's already a huge teacher shortage in their district, especially for teachers of students with disabilities, and what would all of these cuts mean?” Linscott said.
"We are really concerned about programs that support and train teachers about interacting with students with disabilities, that help to train future teachers as students with disabilities, again, are getting caught up and getting grants removed or schools being fearful of continuing programs” she added.
The Trump administration says it has no intention of going after disabled students, and it has stressed its commitment to to IDEA. But same programs that help those students are definitely in the crosshairs, and advocates fear crossfire from other White House initiatives as well.
“We are concerned, because while the administration may not be targeting students with disabilities, students with disabilities have other identities, including transgender, LGBTQ+, all these identities are wrap into all these different students. While they may be focused on woke ideology and DEI, students with disabilities are affected,” said Tim Villegas, director of communications for the Maryland Coalition of Inclusive Education.
The Education Department has sent a letter to schools giving them 14 days to get rid of DEI programs before the agency starts investigating, with threats of funding cuttings looming.
“The Dear Colleague letter from the Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at USED puts both K-12 schools and higher education institutions in a challenging predicament. Many higher education institutions have moved beyond simply providing accommodations to students and really viewed the ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] as a floor, not a ceiling. In other words, they have integrated meaningful disability inclusion efforts into their DEI approach to make learning environments more accessible for everyone, including those with invisible disabilities,” said Nicole Fuller, policy manager for the National Center for Learning Disabilities.
Concerns are particularly high around the idea of closing the Department of Education and how civil rights complaints against schools and potential violations of IDEA or ADA will be handled.
The department has put dozens of employees on administrative leave or fired them, some for involvement in a DEI program that was promoted during Trump’s first administration.
“Staffing cuts at the U.S. Department of Education — whether through terminating probationary employees or placing staff on administrative leave — directly impact the oversight of IDEA and Section 504," Fuller said.
In 2023, the vast majority of cases handled by the Office of Civil Rights at the department were regarding disability-related complaints.
"Cutting OCR’s staff means fewer people to investigate these cases, making it even harder to ensure students with disabilities have their civil rights protected,” Fuller added.
Linda McMahon, Trump’s pick for Education secretary, said during her confirmation hearing she would be looking to put IDEA under the authority of the Health and Human Services Department if the Education Department was abolished, as both she and Trump hope it will be.
“You have a law that was supposed to be working in tandem with education, with the Education Department, and now it's being possibly moved to Health and Human Services, where the main function of that department is public health. So, I'm concerned that the focus and kind of the view of students with disabilities is that we're really only talking about medical issues,” said Villegas.
“We really should be talking about; how do we educate these learners? The whole purpose of IDEA is to give supports and special education services to students with disabilities [...] So, if you separate those, if you separate those departments, then you already have a siloed way of thinking,” he added.
Advocates say it is hard to prepare for the next steps when it is uncertain where the administration is going, but that it will be important for parents and administrators to be loud and keep these issues top of mind as changes move forward.
“I think people need to raise their voices to their elected officials, because Congress has permanently authorized many of these laws and the funding that go with them. So, while the administration may cancel some discretionary funding, they cannot change, for example, the funding formulas under IDEA that go to states without Congress's approval,” said Denise Marshall, the CEO of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates.
“So, I think, again, people need to keep the eye on what's important here, which is the checks and balances in our country and that Trump and his co-president, Elon Musk, cannot change the law by themselves,” she added.
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