On March 20th, the Trump administration released an executive order calling on the Secretary of Education to take steps to close the Department of Education. The executive order further directs the Secretary to withhold federal funding from schools that support diversity, equity or inclusion efforts. This is an incredibly disturbing idea for the administration to put forward. ASAN condemns this executive order, as well as any further attempts to defund or dismantle the Department of Education. 

On its own, an executive order does not change existing law. The Department of Education was made by Congress, and it cannot be destroyed without an act of Congress. However, the executive order outlines a plan that would be incredibly harmful. Even before this order, the Trump administration has taken steps to make it harder for the Department to do the job the law requires it to do. The Department of Education handles programs that are critical for a variety of people, including people of color, low income students, and students with disabilities, among others. 

The department is a civil rights agency charged with advancing equal opportunity in education, and protecting students from discrimination in education. To end the department—or to weaponize the department to discriminate against students—is to betray the government’s commitment to provide that equal access, and that is completely unacceptable.

Education is important for everyone.

Public education is a critical part of making our society function well for everyone. It teaches critical skills like reading, writing, language, math, and more to 50 million students. Of those, there are 7.3 million students with disabilities in the US through 12th grade, and 21% of postsecondary students report having a disability.

The federal government plays a critical role in our education system. It provides more than 1/10th of K-12 funding. This makes it possible for schools in low income areas to teach their students. The funding also comes with the ability to enforce protections for civil rights. This is because schools that receive federal funding are required to comply with certain federal regulations protecting civil rights. One example of that is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA provides schools with funding for the education of students with disabilities, and requires those schools to follow rules that establish the right of disabled students to receive a public education.

Equal access to education is important for every part of our lives, from employment to housing to health. It means that more people are better able to learn. This means we can advocate for ourselves, and to know our rights.

Students are still guaranteed education under IDEA. However, without a Department of Education performing its role in ensuring that all students across the country have access to education, it will make existing disparities across lines of race, class, and disability worse. 

The lack of funding caused by removing the Department of Education would, as noted in this opinion editorial, “force [schools] to increase class sizes, cut specialized programs, or lay off support staff, all of which would be detrimental to students with disabilities”. Without a Department of Education, children and their parents will have fewer ways to advocate for their rights and fewer ways to access help in the event of abuse.

The change will result in losing both demographic performance data and research on best practices. Losing that information makes it harder for educators to do their jobs. This will hurt educators, making already existing problems with teacher shortages and turnover worse.

The Department of Education has roles it legally must continue.

The Department of Education is responsible for enforcing laws passed by Congress.  These laws require the government to do many things to help students and protect their rights.  Eliminating the Department of Education will not remove these laws; the government is still required to do these things.  But the experts on enforcing these laws are in the Department of Education.  It would be harder for the government to follow these laws without the Department of Education. They might stop following the law completely even though the law says we have these rights.

These laws are enforced through The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). OCR works to prevent and address disability discrimination, as well as other types of discrimination, by investigating complaints, and providing public guidance and enforcement regarding five civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination (due to race, color, national origin, sex, disability, and age) in programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance from the Department of Education. 

Some of the laws that the Department of Education is responsible for enforcing are:

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Individualized Education Programs (IEP). IDEA codifies the right to a “free, appropriate public education in the least restrictive setting”. This means that disabled students should not be separated from their nondisabled peers by default just for being disabled. Students have to be placed in the most integrated setting possible where the school can meet their educational needs.

One of the Dept.’s primary responsibilities is monitoring state compliance with IDEA on the following metrics:

• Section 504 of the Rehab Act: 504 plans ensure accommodations for disabled students in public schools

• Title II of the ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in public entities, whether or not they receive federal financial assistance, such as schools.

• Title IV of the The Civil Rights Act of 1964 directs the Department to provide technical assistance to facilitate public school desegregation on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, and sex.

• Title IX (Sex Discrimination) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) prohibits sex discrimination in all education programs and activities that receive federal funding

• Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act

  • Provides additional federal funding to school districts with high proportions of low-income students. If Title I gets cut, eliminated, or appropriated but not allocated via the Dept. of Ed, it’d impact 2.8 million students, disproportionately students of color.

  • “More than half of the nation’s public schools serve a high concentration of low-income students, with 63 percent of traditional public schools and 62 percent of public charter schools in the 2021-22 school year identifying as Title I-eligible.”

• The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, which prohibits discrimination based on age in programs or activities that receive federal funding.

The Department of Education also has other functions. These include providing Rehabilitative Services Administrative (RSA) and oversight, which are under the ED’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS).

• The Rehabilitative Services Administrative supports employment programs that people with disabilities rely on, such as:

  • Vocational Rehab, which helps disabled people be trained for, find, and keep competitive integrated employment instead of being in sheltered workshops. Over one million individuals with disabilities receive services annually through VR.

  • Supported Employment Services 

  • Protection & Advocacy (P&A) Programs (CAP) which help people with disabilities pursue legal action and other ways to push back against violations of their rights and services.

The Department of Education also runs Federal Student Aid Programs, including FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), Pell Grants, Work Study Programs, federal student loans and more. 17 million people fill out FAFSA—any threat to the department threatens low-income college students. 

To learn more about these laws and programs, check out this plain language resource about various laws related to education for disabled students.

The president cannot repeal a law with an Executive Order, and eliminating the Department of Education would not cancel these other laws. The government is still obligated to do these things, and if Trump tries to cancel these programs, stop funding them, or pretend these laws don’t exist, he is breaking the law.

This is why the administration is currently being sued. By mass firing 1,300 employees from the department of education, the administration is acting as though it has the right to shut down the Department of Education without Congressional approval.

In doing this, the administration is also making it impossible for the Office of Civil Rights to enforce the civil rights of all students to a fair and equal education. If there aren’t staff to investigate complaints, they cannot be dealt with - and that is something that cannot legally be taken away without an act of Congress.

The Office of Civil Rights is mandated by law to investigate inaccessibility and other civil rights violations in schools. This service is free and one of the only options available to students and families facing discrimination who cannot afford a lawyer. OCR complaints are already subject to years-long wait times, as OCR receives more claims than they can process, and that was before Trump put a month-long freeze on investigations and has now laid off over half of its staff, and ordered closure of half of the regional offices. The administration is clearly attempting to ensure that students have no legal options to pursue if they are being discriminated against in schools.

These actions are unconscionable and illegal. They must not stand.

Come for one group, face us all. 

This attempt to dismantle the Department of Education is part of a larger coordinated attack on the civil rights of disabled Americans, as well as racial and sexual minorities, to bolster white supremacy. 

Federal employees in roles related to civil rights and racial, gender and disability equity have been targeted and were (illegally) put on leave, which includes mass layoffs of 1,300 people at the Department of Education. 

These executive orders encourage or even purport to require discrimination and contribute to a climate of greater discrimination against students everywhere. We’re already seeing examples of both increased hate crimes and anti-Latino hate speech in schools, as well as discriminatory action against students. 

Both these actions, as well as the proposal to end the Department of Education, aim to  revert America to a deeply segregated society where disabled people and racial and gender minorities are denied access to schools, housing, workplaces, and opportunities to influence policy that affect their lives. 

Congress must protect those they represent. 

It is critical to emphasize that the actions described in the Executive Order are illegal without congressional approval. The Department of Education cannot legally be closed without a law from Congress, and cutting its functions and staff until it can no longer do the work it is required to do is just as illegal.

ASAN strongly urges all members of Congress to protect the rights of our community and oppose any efforts to end the Department of Education. ASAN, our community, and our allies will continue to resist these attempts to roll back decades of civil rights advocacy across the country. Education is for all of us, and it helps everyone. Nothing about us, without us.

Addendum: For community members in crisis.

We recognize that this is an incredibly distressing time for many members of our community. We encourage autistic people to know your rights, and to learn as much as you can to advocate for yourself.

If you are experiencing a crisis, please reach out to your loved ones or other resources for support.

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network seeks to advance the principles of the disability rights movement with regard to autism. ASAN believes that the goal of autism advocacy should be a world in which autistic people enjoy equal access, rights, and opportunities. We work to empower autistic people across the world to take control of our own lives and the future of our common community, and seek to organize the autistic community to ensure our voices are heard in the national conversation about us. Nothing About Us, Without Us!

Autistic Self Advocacy Network

PO Box 66122
Washington, DC 20035

 

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