OSDE: Special ed funding intact, but mass U.S. Department of Education firings pose challenges

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) leaders say they’re confident students won’t see any disruptions in services—even as staff scramble to adjust after the federal government abruptly fired most of the officials tasked with helping states implement special education programs.

Over the weekend, the U.S. Department of Education laid off all but a few top officials in its Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).

The move was part of President Donald Trump’s pledge to fire hundreds of federal workers he claimed were only there because Democrats wanted them.

“And some of these people, these are largely people that the Democrats want,” Trump said recently. “Many of them will be fired.”

OSEP is the office responsible for overseeing how states spend money allocated under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

“About 15% of the money that it takes to educate students with disability comes from the federal government,” said Sherri Coats, OSDE’s Program Director of Special Education Services.

Coats told News 4 that no one at the federal level told her about the firings in advance.

She only found out when OSEP’s Oklahoma state lead texted her Sunday to say she’d been fired.

“She provides support for us whenever we have questions,” Coats said. “They provide professional development, they provide a designation for Oklahoma annually to determine whether or not Oklahoma is meeting standards under IDEA, meeting requirements under IDEA, whether we need assistance in meeting IDEA, or whether we need intervention or substantial intervention.”

As of now, the firings haven’t interrupted the flow of federal dollars.

Coats said the federal government deposited $181 million in requested IDEA funding into the state’s account on Tuesday morning.

“We already have our allocation,” Coats said. “We are already drawing down. We’re already sending to districts. This money is not in jeopardy.”

But the staff responsible for processing those funding requests no longer exists—and Coats said no one has told her where to send them in the future.

OSEP staff also handled oversight to ensure states were properly spending special education funds—but those staff were among those fired.

“It’s probably too much money for the government to give without any checks and balances, and I wouldn’t want that,” Coats said. “I would want to have some checks and balances. So before they give us our next allocation, they will have to have something in place to make sure that it’s utilized appropriately.”

She said the loss of technical support will be a challenge—but one the state has no choice but to meet.

“Well, we will handle it because that’s what we have to do,” Coats said. “But it helps us tremendously when we have the support. Language in law is complicated. It’s complex, and making sure that we’re implementing it exactly as we’re supposed to—it helps us to have that technical assistance from OSEP.”

Coats said as long as federal law still requires states to provide special education services—and federal funding for those services continues—Oklahoma schools will keep providing them, regardless of who’s left at the U.S. Department of Education.