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A Presidential Executive Order issued on March 20, 2025, requires the shutdown of the U.S. Department of Education. This fact sheet provides information on what the Department does, other related actions taken by the federal government, and the potential impact on students with disabilities.
Background
- The U.S. Department of Education was created through a law passed by Congress in 1979.
- It is the federal agency that establishes policy for, administers and coordinates most federal assistance to education.
- According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), about 13.7% of public school funding for all states in the U.S. came from the federal government. (This percentage is the highest since 1989-1990 school year.) The NCES also cites that the federal government provided 18.3% of public school funding in Texas during the 2021–22 school year. (Data is not yet available for later years.)
- The Ed Department does not develop curriculum, state education standards, or testing to measure if states are meeting education standards. These are responsibilities handled by the states, school districts, and other organizations.
- It also manages federal special education programs established through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) passed by Congress in 1975. This includes oversight of IEPs (Individual Education Programs) and 504 plans, both of which ensure students with disabilities can access an education.
- The Ed Department oversees the Grants to States Program which provides federal funding to states to help with the costs of special education services.
- The Department is the primary federal agency that investigates disability and other discrimination in schools.
What’s Happening
- On March 20, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order to close the Ed Department and “return authority over public education to States and local communities.”
- Because the Department was created through law by Congress, it is believed that Congress would need to approve a shutdown.
- Earlier in the month on March 11, 2025, the Department announced layoffs of 2,183 of its 4,133 workers.
- At least 240 of those laid off were in the Department’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR). As of last September, 568 people worked in the OCR, according to the FedScope federal workforce database.
- Seven of 12 OCR regional offices were closed and had all employees laid off, including the office in Dallas, Texas.
- Though certain parts of the Ed Department website still list the Dallas office, the link to its OCR Complaint Form that DRTx sends to parents now states that complaint correspondence should be sent to the OCR office in Washington, D.C.
- We have not yet received information on who can be contacted regarding pending complaints that were filed with the Dallas OCR office and assigned to staff who are now laid off.
Potential Impact for Students with Disabilities
- With the reduction of Ed Department OCR staff, pending complaints filed by the parents of Texas children with disabilities, including some of our clients, may be further delayed or not reviewed.
- OCR complaints may no longer be available as an effective course of action for children with disabilities experiencing discrimination in schools.
- With additional federal budget cuts expected, we are concerned that Grants to States Program that provides special education funding to the states will be affected.
- The full shutdown of the Department will likely reduce and possibly eliminate remedies that parents can use for upholding the legal rights of their students with disabilities when their efforts at the district or state levels have been unsuccessful.
As a nonpartisan, nonprofit legal advocacy firm, we are committed to providing you with accurate information on current events like this one that impact the rights of people with disabilities. Please note that this is an evolving issue and that new directives, announcements or court orders may affect the accuracy of some of the information provided in this document.