April 8, 2025
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TASH is an organization devoted to advancing opportunities and inclusion for individuals with disabilities, including individuals with the most extensive support needs. TASH advocates for equal opportunities for all children to learn in schools and to live and contribute to society as adults. We know, based in part upon decades of research funded by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) that with supports, children and youth with significant disabilities thrive and contribute to our society.
TASH believes that the U.S. Department of Education (ED) should continue to serve as the primary federal agency that supports public education for all students who attend public schools in the United States, including students who receive specialized services guaranteed under a federal civil rights law enacted in 1975, and must continue to at least provide the pass through and discretionary funds that supplement and guide states as authorized by the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the landmark legislation that protects the rights of students with disabilities:
All children and youth with disabilities in the United States have the right to a Free, Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) as guaranteed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. There are no exceptions.
Role of the Department
ED holds a significant responsibility to implement IDEA which includes pass-through and discretionary funding to supplement special education service costs in the states, and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) which includes funding provided directly to states to address needs in low-income schools to improve student outcomes in K-12 public education.
Together, these complementary laws ensure schools have the knowledge and resources they need, including funds that are disbursed to schools through awards by ED to the states.
Furthermore, the Department of Education holds a significant responsibility for:
- conducting research to inform states of effective teaching practices,
- funding and guidance for teacher preparation programs,
- technical assistance and demonstration of the implementation of research-informed practices to improve services to our most vulnerable citizens,
- data collection and dissemination on state performance and progress, and
- guidance and resources to states based on knowledge gained through research and technical assistance activities,
- oversight and enforcement through the Office of Civil Rights (OCR.)
Position Rationale
If Congress authorizes the dismantling of the Department of Education, the negative impacts will directly affect schools across the United States, especially for those children and youth with the most need for public support. Reductions in discretionary funds will harm teacher preparation and school practices. Already, reductions in Department of Education staff who ensure that IDEA is implemented as intended is cause for deep concern; the loss of expert professional staff oversight and OCR enforcement will result in increased segregation and poorer outcomes with increased dependency and lives of poverty for school systems and the students they serve.
TASH urges lawmakers to consider that:
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Local governance will remain intact.
Public education has always been and will remain a local responsibility in the United States. While ED does provide guidance on best practices, it does not dictate state standards, assessments, school organization, or priorities. However, ED is the primary vehicle for identifying best practices, funding special education teacher preparation programs, creating resources, and disseminating information across the country.
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Dismantling the Department could have many negative effects.
These negative effects include: (a) disruption of research; (b) inconsistencies among critical laws that complement each other in guidance, funding, and assurance of rightful learning opportunities for children with the most extensive support needs; (c) reduction or misallocation of funds required to support states in supporting special education services.
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Teacher shortages will continue and most likely increase.
States could lose billions of dollars in federal funding that support special education grants to states to directly support personnel and the preparation of personnel to teach students with disabilities. This includes teachers, teacher assistants, materials, resources, and assistive technology necessary for students with disabilities to make progress in the general education curriculum. The loss of this funding will further reduce the teacher workforce, increase class sizes, and increase the financial burden on each state to meet the legal requirements of a free appropriate public education, resulting in volumes of complaints and potential litigation.
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IDEA compliance complaints require a speedy process.
Before ED was formed in 1979, the federal government provided little guidance; states had the primary responsibility for ensuring compliance with IDEA. However, without federal guidance, many states failed to ensure a free appropriate education in the least restrictive environment as required by law. Since that time, national technical assistance centers, federal assessment grants, personnel preparation programs and research projects have paved the way for all learners, including those with the most extensive support needs, to access public education, have individualized education programs based on individual strengths, preferences and interests for meaningful life outcomes and to graduate from schools with skills to contribute to their communities and to become taxpayers.
Policy Recommendation
TASH urges Congress to support students with disabilities, their families, and communities by supporting the U.S. Department of Education. Investments in education that benefit all of our nation’s students are investments that benefit all of America. TASH also urges state Governors and legislators to consider the beneficial impacts of U.S. Department of Education guidance and resources in the States, and the severe costs to children, families and communities and States if the Department is dismantled. Society, students with disabilities and students without disabilities cannot go back to pre-1975 when millions of children with disabilities were denied access to any public school education and often condemned to lifelong institutionalization at huge financial costs.
References
Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 6301. (2015). https://www.ed.gov/media/document/introductionpdf-101161.pdf
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400. (2004). https://sites.ed.gov/idea/