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[ [link removed] ]TAKE ACTION
Dear Friend,
[ [link removed] ]URGENT ACTION! The Trump Administration’s Department of Education has
gutted their Special Education office in shutdown layoffs, eliminating
nearly all positions overseeing special education. (When you click, you’ll
automatically sign on if we already have your information.)
What’s happening?
Last weekend, the Trump Administration announced the firing of hundreds of
Department of Education federal staff who provide critical educational
access support for children with disabilities. This means fewer
protections when students with disabilities face exclusion, harassment,
discriminatory discipline, and barriers to access and inclusion in
education. Without federal oversight, states could begin ignoring or
weakening disability rights laws altogether. [1]
Harrowing moves like this are not happening in isolation, they are yet
another egregious example of the ceaseless attacks on children with
disabilities–from assaults to Medicaid, dangerous false rhetoric around
autism, and the proposal of registries for tracking children with
developmental differences, indicating a pattern of measures that are
harming children with disabilities.
[ [link removed] ]Tell your members of Congress that this is completely unacceptable and
they MUST put pressure on the Trump administration to reinstate staff at
the Department of Education. (When you click, you’ll automatically sign on
if we already have your information.)
The Education Department already severed nearly half of its staff this
past March [2] – and now have laid off just about every employee
responsible for administering funding and overseeing the implementation of
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), [ [link removed] ] which serves
more than 8 million children nationwide. [ [link removed] ]
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a good law which
has provided access to free, quality education to children with
disabilities, early intervention support for infants, toddlers, and their
families, and ensured access to special education & critical supportive
services since 1975.
Prior to the protections enacted by this landmark legislation, U.S. public
schools accommodated just 1 out of 5 children with disabilities and many
states even had laws excluding students with disabilities! [ [link removed] ] 3.5 million
disabled children who attended school were forced into segregated
facilities that provided little or no effective instruction [ [link removed] ] and 1.8
million children with disabilities had no access to the public school
system at all. [ [link removed] ]
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the IDEA – yet instead of
celebrating progress, our nation is facing the dismantling of the very
infrastructure created to protect children with disabilities, pushing
millions of children back to a time of segregation and systemic refusal to
provide educational opportunities.
Congress has a long bipartisan history of funding federal efforts to
ensure children with disabilities can equally access education. [3]This is
why it’s important to TAKE ACTION demanding Congress deliver on its
essential role in funding & overseeing these critical education
programs—and hold the Department of Education accountable! (When you
click, you’ll automatically sign on if we already have your information.)
The letter we are sending the U.S. Congress states the following:
Dear member of Congress,
Last weekend the Administration announced the firing of hundreds of
Department of Education federal staff who provide critical educational
access support for children with disabilities. This means fewer
protections when students with disabilities face exclusion, harassment,
discriminatory discipline, and barriers to access and inclusion in
education. Without federal oversight, states could begin ignoring or
weakening disability rights laws altogether.
The Education Department already severed nearly half of its staff this
past March and now have laid off just about every employee responsible for
administering funding and overseeing the implementation of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which serves more than 8 million
children nationwide.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has provided access
to free, quality education to children with disabilities, early
intervention support for infants, toddlers, and their families, and
ensured access to special education & critical supportive services since
1975. Prior to the protections enacted by this landmark legislation, U.S.
public schools accommodated just 1 out of 5 children with disabilities and
many states even had laws excluding students with disabilities! 3.5
million disabled children who attended school were forced into segregated
facilities that provided little or no effective instruction and 1.8
million children with disabilities had no access to the public school
system at all.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the IDEA yet instead of
celebrating progress, our nation is facing the dismantling of the very
infrastructure created to protect children with disabilities, pushing
millions of children back to a time of segregation and systemic refusal to
provide educational opportunities.
Congress has a long bipartisan history of funding federal efforts to
ensure children with disabilities can equally access education, this is
why it is crucial that elected officials such as yourself help fulfill
this essential congressional role of funding & overseeing these
programs—and hold the Department of Education accountable. The Department
of Education is meant to be the keeper of IDEA’s promise, not the
architect of its demise.
We urge you to put pressure on the Trump administration to reinstate staff
and transparency at the Department of Education and help right this
egregious wrong and protect children with disabilities throughout the
nation who depend on these critical programs to learn, grow and thrive.
Sincerely,
Your name
[4]SIGN NOW: Congress must push for the restoration of staffing and
transparency at the U.S. Department of Education! (When you click, you’ll
automatically sign on if we already have your information.)
Let’s also be clear that ALL of this is part of the administration's
larger goal of denying the right to a public education for all, stripping
away protections for students, rolling back civil rights enforcement, and
weakening federal support for public education nationwide. As devastating
as this is, we won’t back down from speaking up for our nation’s children
and families, and we know you won’t either. We will continue to rise up
together to call for protecting public education and the rights and
futures of children with disabilities!
-Nadia, Ruth, Bea, Lauren, Nina, Felicia, Kristin, Donna and the whole
MomsRising.org & MamásConPoder Team
P.S. Will eliminating disability protections in education impact your
child or family? [5]Share your Disability Rights story with us now!
P.S.S. Want to learn more about recent federal updates and its impact on
programs that support young children with disabilities? [6]Click here to
register for the Advocating for Young Children with Disabilities in Your
State webinar happening Monday, October 20th. The webinar will be
recorded.
[1] [2] [7]Ed. Dept. Offices Will Be Virtually Wiped Out in Latest Layoffs
[3][5][7] [ [link removed] ]A History of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act
[4] [ [link removed] ]Education Department wipes out special ed office in shutdown
layoffs, union says
[6] [ [link removed] ]Disability and the Education System
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