Goodlander Condemns Trump Administration’s Latest Attacks on Special Education

Concord, N.H. - Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander joined 117 of her colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, strongly condemning and urging the Trump Administration to rescind their decision to lay off federal employees dedicated to the education and support of students with disabilities and their families. Congressman Chris Pappas also signed this letter.

The lawmakers are demanding the administration immediately reverse course and rescind the termination notices issued to staff in the Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), including employees in the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and the Rehabilitative Services Administration (RSA), as well as the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE).

In the letter the members wrote, "Decimating these offices threatens accountability for special education and vocational rehabilitation funds, as well as the civil rights Congress has enshrined in federal law, at a time when schools nationwide are already struggling to meet the needs of students and when people with disabilities continue to face barriers to employment. Federal employees at OSERS play a key role in ensuring that federal dollars are spent appropriately and effectively to support students with disabilities. Without them, there will be no oversight to ensure that physically disabled students, blind/deaf children and teenagers, as well as students with dyslexia, autism, and other disabilities are receiving the free and appropriate public education they are guaranteed under the [Individuals with Disabilities Education Act]."

The letter continues, "These reckless terminations are just another in a line of actions by your administration that threaten the rights that individuals with disabilities have fought long and hard for. We urge you to immediately rescind your plans to wrongly fire employees at the agencies listed above so that they can continue working to ensure that every family, no matter where they live or their income, has access to an education that will set them up for a successful future regardless of their child's disability."

The letter warns that the terminations will have devastating consequences for the more than 7.5 million students with disabilities across the country and their families.

The full text of the letter can be found here.

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