NAPSA Joins a Broad Coalition Across the Nation and States Calling Upon the Administration and Congress to Protect Children with Disabilities, Reverse Layoffs, and Uphold Access to Key Educational Services

October 22, 2025

Washington, D.C. – A broad coalition of national, state, and local disability, civil rights, and education organizations is sounding the alarm over sweeping layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education. These cuts have gutted key offices—including the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE)—threatening decades of progress in protecting students with disabilities. 

These wholesale terminations place fundamental education laws in peril and place millions of children with disabilities at risk who receive services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and Title IV of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. These layoffs circumvent the will of Congress and dismantle 50 years of precedent upholding rights for students with disabilities. Without personnel to oversee these laws, the Department cannot provide essential leadership, oversight, guidance, or support to states and schools—jeopardizing students’ access to a free, appropriate public education and hampering the ability of states and localities to serve all students. In addition, the terminations also threaten the vocational rehabilitation system that helps youth and adults with disabilities become employed.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of IDEA, a law that has enjoyed strong bipartisan support for five decades. Rather than celebrating progress, we face a crisis: the dismantling of the very infrastructure Congress created to ensure children with disabilities could reach their full potential, potentially catapulting them back to a time of segregation and refusal to provide educational opportunities.

The undersigned organizations urge the Administration – and call on Congress to do the same – to reverse course immediately and restore staffing and transparency at the U.S. Department of Education. Strong federal leadership is not optional—it’s a moral and legal obligation for our nation’s children with disabilities.

To see the document and the list of organizations that signed on, click here.

On October 25, 2025, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to immediately stop the mass firing of federal employees during the current government shutdown caused by Congress’ impasse over fiscal year 2026 funding. The Trump administration cannot issue any additional reduction in force (RIF) notices, and it cannot enforce the notices already issued, according to the ruling from Judge Susan Illston of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The U.S. Department of Education (USDE) began the year with about 4,133 employees and the latest estimate is that about 2,000 remain after the last round of RIFs. Special Education offices have been particularly hard.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.

As the government shutdown moves forward, many are wondering what impact it will have on K-12 schools. The shutdown officially commenced at midnight EST on October 1st when the new fiscal year was to begin.

Initially, the shutdown is expected to have fairly imperceptible impact on schools and school districts, but the pause in federal funding will create some noticeable disruptions for school districts and state education agencies. Some examples include pauses in Office for Civil Rights (OCR) investigations, new grant making activities, and technical assistance support.

Of note is the drastic decrease in U.S. Department of Education staff, which will result in only 330 of 2,447 of its employees remaining on the job. This follows a decrease in USDE staff from 4,133 at the beginning of the year to 2,447 as of September 28th. In total, the USDE is only expected to retain 5% of its workforce during the first week of the shutdown. Those continuing to work will not be paid during that time.

School districts qualifying for Impact Aid, which is the only federal K-12 education program not forward-funded months in advance, will see a pause in receiving those funds. Similarly, the National Head Start Association (NHSA), an advocacy group that represents Head Start families and its workforce, has warned that if a shutdown continues for weeks or months, there will be a higher risk of program closures and staff furloughs, which will affect  about three-quarters of a million children.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.