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).

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.

On October 17, 2025, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) released the latest issue of the Positive Approaches Journal, which aims to provide the most recent research for people with behavioral health challenges, intellectual disabilities, autism, and other developmental disabilities to help them live an everyday life. This edition highlights the role that the environment plays on the everyday lives of people and how fostering supportive environments can promote positive change.

This edition of the Positive Approaches Journal features research and articles on the following:
-Data Insights: This article details how Medicaid-covered home accessibility modifications – ramps and lifts, widened doorways and hallways, bathroom modifications, specialized electrical or plumbing equipment, and grab bars and handrails – are important in supporting health, safety, and independence for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
-Designing for Safety: A Trauma-Informed Approach to Environmental Design in Community-Based Wellness: This article examines how physical spaces communicate safety, autonomy, and belonging, and how environmental design can play a critical role in resiliency and trauma-informed care for those with intellectual disabilities and autism and those who support them.
-Creating Nurturing Environments to Support Mental Health: This article highlights evidence-based techniques to create supportive environments using the Ecology of Human Performance Theory from occupational therapy, which explains the interaction between a person and their environment.
-Positive Impacts of Environmental Modifications for Individuals with Autism and Dual Diagnosis Conditions: This article highlights how specified environmental modifications can be implemented in order to best support a person with autism, intellectual developmental disability, and co-occurring mental health.
-Building Better Lives: Futures Community Support Services, Inc: This article outlines how Futures Community Support Services provides a wide range of individualized services designed to support people with autism or developmental disabilities based on their unique needs and living situations.
-Transforming Lives with Technology: This article offers a case study on the balance of an individual’s risk and independence in a residential setting.

The journal is a collaboration of DHS’ Office of Developmental Programs and Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. It collects resources, observations, and advancements in mental and behavioral health in order to better serve people in their communities.

Read this edition of the Positive Approaches Journal.

For more information visit www.dhs.pa.gov.

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.