In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the issue's role in presidential politics. Many posts have discussed Trump's bad record on disability issues. As his words and actions have shown, he despises Americans with disabilities. He told his nephew Fred that severely disabled people -- such as Fred's son -- should "just die."
Project 2025 proposed to turn IDEA into a "no strings" block grant, effectively gutting the law and destroying protections that disability families have long relied upon. During the 2024 race, Trump denied any connection to the project, but now he proclaims it, praising OMB director Russ Vought "of Project 2025 fame."
Trump and Vought are now accomplishing their goal of ravaging the law. Instead of shifting it to a block grant, they are firing most of the staff who enforce it. A judge has temporarily paused the attack, but the administration will likely find ways to ignore or circumvent the order.
Laura Meckler at WP:
The Trump administration is exploring moving the $15 billion program that supports students with disabilities to a different agency within the federal government as it works to close the Education Department altogether, a department official said Tuesday.
The effort comes on the heels of the agency’s decision this month to lay off the vast majority of employees working on special-education services and months after Education Secretary Linda McMahon talked about moving the program to the Department of Health and Human Services. Her goal is to fulfill President Donald Trump’s promise to close the Education Department and move its functions to other parts of the government.
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Congressional action is required to close the department and to move its major functions to other agencies. But earlier this year, the Trump administration pioneered a work-around in which they signed an agreement to move career, technical and adult education grants to the Labor Department. The agreement carefully sidesteps the statutes by having the Education Department retain oversight and leadership while managing the programs alongside Labor.
In April, Eli Smolen explained at Edtrust:
We know how HHS has treated students with disabilities in the past. Before the Education Department was enshrined into law in 1979, the Department of Health and Human Services, previously known as the Department of Health Education and Welfare, was responsible for students with disabilities. Under their purview, a Congressional investigation revealed nearly half of all students with disabilities were not receiving the appropriate services, and almost a quarter were barred from attending school altogether.
Beyond a problematic past, the HHS is not fit to address the academic needs of today’s children. Not only is HHS undergoing its own upheaval due to the reduction in workforce, but the department also lacks the institutional knowledge and subject expertise to provide sufficient educational services and guidance. As the Secretary of HHS continues to peddle disproven theories about autism and other disabilities, advocates are rightfully concerned.
In addition, the Trump Administration has made no effort to outline how the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) will be enforced. The existing mechanisms to ensure students were receiving the services afforded to them by federal law, were primarily administered by the Office of Civil Rights in the Department of Education. There is no analogous office in HHS and any effort to enforce civil rights initiatives is likely to be hindered by staffing shortages. With thousands of civil rights complaints piling up, families and students are already feeling the effects of a system without accountability.
