As rumors swirled that special education programs could soon be leaving their longtime home at the U.S. Department of Education (USDE), a spokesperson has confirmed the USDE is “exploring additional partnerships” with other federal agencies to support this programming.
Madi Biedermann, deputy assistant secretary for communications, in an email to K-12 Dive, did not detail what federal agencies the USDE was seeking to partner with, but emphasized that any agreement would be made “without any interruption or impact on students with disabilities.” Biedermann also made clear that no agreement has been signed.
Biedermann added that U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon “is fully committed to protecting the federal funding streams that support our nation’s students with disabilities,” even as McMahon’s goal is to “put herself out of a job by shutting down the Department of Education and returning education to the states.”
The Trump administration has said for several months that it wants to move special education out of the USDE. Both President Donald Trump and McMahon have named the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as a potential partner in overseeing federal special education activities.
This latest development comes as the Trump administration continues its quest to downsize the USDE. Staff buy-outs, early retirements and mass firings, including one on Oct 10 during the federal government shutdown, has left the agency with about half of the workforce it began the year with.
Most of the employees within the USDE’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), about 121 people, were fired on Oct. 10 while many were furloughed by the shutdown. About 465 employees across the USDE were let go, including in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OSEP) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR).
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