In The Politics of Autism, I write about social services, special education, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 7.5 million children 3 to 21 years old received services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in AY 2022-23.
About 980,000 of them were autistic, up from 498,000 in 2012-13.
The Trump administration is halving the staff of the Department of Education.
The Council for Exceptional Children on Trump's "skinny budget":
The non-binding budget informs Congress about the President’s priorities for federal agencies. It proposes to level-fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) at its current funding level. However, it proposes the establishment of a “Special Education Simplified Funding Program” within IDEA that would consolidate seven unspecified IDEA programs. The White House explains, “The consolidation furthers the Administration’s goal of limiting the Federal role in education by reducing the number of programs at ED, the number of staff needed to administer them, and the administrative burden on States so more dollars go to students instead of bureaucrats.” However, with few additional details and no specifications about impacted programs, it is unclear how IDEA funding will be prioritized and whether any IDEA competitive grant programs will be preserved.
If Congress follows this recommendation, it could make Part B grants to states (ages 5-21), Part C funds for infants and toddlers, and Part D funds for personnel, parent training, research, and technical assistance (accessible materials, technology, etc.) in jeopardy and at the complete discretion of the Administration. Congress will need to determine how closely to follow this budget proposal as they craft their bills for Fiscal Year 2026. A more detailed budget is expected to be forthcoming from the White House.
