According to Disability Scoop, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) is canceling millions of dollars in grants for special education teacher training, parent resource centers and more saying that they don’t align with Trump administration priorities. In fact, the USDE’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) terminated grants for 25 programs funded under Part D of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The money, totaling more than $14.8 million, was for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2025 and was expected by state education departments, nonprofits, universities, and other entities across 16 states. In addition, USDE’s Rehabilitation Services Administration also ended another nine grants for disability-focused initiatives worth over $3.5 million. Notifications about the canceled grants cited language in the funding applications referencing diversity, equity, inclusion, racism and similar terms.
The canceled grants included funding for community parent resource centers, preparing special education teachers and related service providers, Braille and interpreter training and programs supporting those who are deafblind, among other initiatives. In Wisconsin, the state’s Department of Public Instruction learned late last week that two grants would be canceled, one for personnel development and another to serve 170 students who have both vision and hearing loss. The grants were both in the middle of a five-year grant cycle. A notice of noncontinuation from the USDE also went to four deafblind projects in Washington, Oregon, Wisconsin and a consortium of New England states including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.
One noncontinuation notice said continuing the project “would be in conflict with agency policy and priorities, and so is not in the best interest of the Federal Government.”
Stephanie Smith Lee, who served as director of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) under President George W. Bush, said there is “simply no precedent” for any administration canceling so many IDEA Part D grants all at once in the middle of a grant cycle.
For more details from Disability Scoop, click here.