DREDF Denounces Attempts to Dismantle the Department of Education

For Immediate Release:
March 11, 2025

Washington, D.C. – The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) rejects any executive order and related proposals to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and cut funding and staff. An executive order cannot override the legitimately passed laws that created the Department of Education nearly 50 years ago. DREDF rejects all attempts of the federal government to ignore its responsibility to uphold its own laws. We continue to advocate for and celebrate the lives of students with disabilities, their families, and all who seek to serve them.

DREDF believes that any dismantling of the Department of Education (the Department) is a senseless action that will harm the futures of millions of children, students, and transitional-aged youth with disabilities – particularly those who are transgender or gender non-conforming, Black, Brown, and Indigenous and who live in rural communities. “We must protect the hard-fought rights to a fair and equitable education for our students with disabilities. We must support and amplify the expertise of families, communities, and education professionals who work in solidarity with them,” stated Michelle Uzeta, Deputy Director of DREDF.

The U.S. Department of Education Provides Critical Supports and Services to Disabled Students

The Department provides schools and states essential funding, technical assistance, research, and oversight for students with all types of disabilities and their teachers.

The Department of Education oversees the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the implementation and enforcement of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The IDEA is a law that requires states and schools to make available a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment to 8 million children with disabilities throughout the nation, and makes sure that special education and related services are provided. When the IDEA was created in 1975, Congress stated that it is “in the national interest that the Federal government assist State and local efforts to provide programs to meet the needs of disabled children in order to ensure equal protection under the law.” As stated by the Department, “Congress opened public school doors for millions of children with disabilities and laid the foundation of the country’s commitment to ensuring that children with disabilities have opportunities to develop their talents, share their gifts, and contribute to their communities.”

Since the IDEA’s passage in 1975, and with the assistance of the Department, classrooms are more inclusive, progress has been made in protecting the rights of students with disabilities, and society has learned to set high standards for disabled students. In the law, Congress states:

Disability is a natural part of the human experience and in no way diminishes the right of individuals to participate in or contribute to society. Improving educational results for children with disabilities is an essential element of our national policy of ensuring equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities.

The Department also provides funding to Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs) across the country. There is at least one PTI in every state, and services are provided to students and families in rural, suburban, and urban areas. PTIs provide free services to families of children and young adults from birth to age 26 with all disabilities. PTIs help parents, caregivers, and youth with disabilities (or suspected disabilities) understand and use important disability and civil rights laws, participate effectively in the special education process, advocate for needed support and services, and solve school problems.

The Department provides more than $15 billion through grants to states to support special education in local schools, and distributes essential funds to schools with high concentrations of students experiencing poverty, including rural areas and schools with high representation of students with disabilities.

The Department also compiles and provides valuable data that helps states and schools to develop effective educational approaches, treat children with disabilities with dignity and respect, and comply with civil rights laws.

DREDF does not support moving essential programs within the U.S. Department of Education to other agencies, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

IDEA is implemented through the Department because children with disabilities, like all children, are curious about the world and capable of learning. A disability does not turn a child from a student into a little patient. Giving IDEA funds to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) does not change healthcare providers into educators or give them the expertise that PTIs have in providing technical assistance to schools, states, or parents. Disability activists and advocates fought for decades to gain access to mainstream education outside of medical institutions or other segregated settings. Children don’t belong in nursing homes, and enforcement of IDEA doesn’t belong at HHS.

Every student has the right to be treated with dignity and respect. Every student has the right to feel safe at school. But disabled students face multiple barriers to accessing necessary supports at school, including inclusive bathroom policies and facilities for transgender and gender non-conforming students and students with care attendants of a different gender. Additionally, attitudinal barriers such as stereotypes and prejudice exist. There are still architectural barriers, such as a lack of ramps or elevators and an inadequate number of trained teachers and aids who can provide the best experience for students across all types of disabilities. Students with disabilities are not safe at school when they are more prone to experience restraint, seclusion, or other forms of penalization that can lead to school-to-prison and school-to-deportation pipelines. This is particularly true for black students with disabilities.

Disability activists and advocates fought for decades to gain access to mainstream education outside of medical institutions or other segregated settings. We have and will continue to reject any attempt to force segregation and harm disabled students.

Safe, supported students who are challenged to learn and work together across all kinds of differences become confident, empathetic adults. The properly supported and funded integration of students and teachers with disabilities in school sets a pattern for true integration in our workplaces, homes, and communities. DREDF denounces attempts to dismantle the Department and any cuts to funding of necessary programs. We are committed to continued advocacy for access to education for all students and a bright future for our country.

More Resources:

Action Alerts:

# # #

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), based in Berkeley, California, is a national nonprofit law and policy center dedicated to advancing and protecting the civil and human rights of people with disabilities. Founded in 1979 by people with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities, DREDF remains board- and staff-led by members of the communities for whom we advocate. DREDF pursues its mission through education, advocacy, and law reform efforts, and is committed to increasing accessible and equally effective healthcare for people with disabilities. DREDF supports legal protections for all diversity and minority communities, including the intersectional interests of people within those communities who also have disabilities.

Press Contact:

Tina Pinedo, Communications Director
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
510-225-7726
media@dredf.org