Advocates worry about lack of special education oversight after federal firings

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- Advocates and former education officials are concerned about the future of special education in Texas following a Trump administration decision to cut staff in the special education office of the Department of Education.

The firings happened last week amid the government shutdown, but a federal judge has temporarily blocked the layoffs as a court battle between unions and the federal government ensues.

Margaret Spellings, the former secretary of education in the George W. Bush administration, said the development is very worrisome for states that rely on federal colleagues to help them comply with federal law and better serve kids with special needs.

"I think it's really sad and disappointing for students all across this country," Spellings said. She described the Office of Special Education Programs within the DOE as the last line of defense for special education parents. The office helps administer funds to state education agencies and acts as a watchdog for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

The federal law requires a free, appropriate public education for all students regardless of their disability. Spellings estimates 14% of the student population in Texas is diagnosed as special education.

The DOE had to intervene in Texas in 2018 after an investigation found the Texas Education Agency (TEA) had unofficially set a cap on the percentage of students in special education programs, incentivizing school districts for denying services to kids who should have been eligible for them.

Steven Aleman, the senior policy specialist for Disability Rights Texas, said the corrective action helped the state improve its diagnosis of students in special education. However, Aleman adds, "it's always important to have that federal watchdog there available to us if there's ever any slippage or regression."

The TEA also has a specialized office within the agency responsible for meeting the requirements under the IDEA. Parents can report special education complaints with the TEA if they believe there is a violation in state or federal law, but Aleman wonders if the agency will have the capacity to take on the oversight role solely without as much federal support.

"We, of course, do have confidence that the Texas Education Agency does want to do the right thing," Aleman explained. "The question now is will they have the capacity and ability if there's more pressure on them because of the reductions at the federal level."

Nexstar reached out to the TEA with questions about its staff dedicated to special education and if it has been given any guidance from the federal level about how to proceed following the cuts. A spokesperson said it is working on our request.

Aleman also questions what will happen with the federal funding aspect of the program.

"There is a requirement that the state submit an application for that money so if there's no one there at the Department of Education to receive that application to approve it, then that complicates, of course, the federal aid," Aleman said.

Current Secretary of Education Linda McMahon took to social media this week to quell any concerns about the recent layoffs.

"Two weeks in, millions of American students are still going to school, teachers are getting paid, and schools are operating as normal. It confirms what the President has said: the federal Department of Education is unnecessary, and we should return education to the states," McMahon wrote on her X account. She went on to say that no funding was impacted by the latest cuts.

Gloria Rodriguez personally understands the importance of an oversight when it comes to special education. Her 12-year-old daughter is diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy, known as Dravet syndrome, that is characterized by multiple forms of seizures per day.

Rodriguez said her daughter is non-verbal and has cognitive delays. "She will need care and help for all of her activities of daily living for the rest of her life," she explained.

When it was time for her daughter to start elementary school at a district with more than 47,000 students, Rodriguez said diagnosticians came to the home to perform testing. "She did not do well," Rodriguez explained. It was determined that her daughter would be safest if she were homebound due to the number of seizures and hospital visits she was having.

"So back in the early days, my primary focus was her health and I didn't think a whole lot about what the school's decisions were," Rodriguez explained. In the beginning, she says the district told her it did not have the funding to hire an aide who could provide physical therapy services at the campus. Instead, a teacher would come to her house twice a week for two hours a day to work with her daughter. A speech therapist would also come for 30 minutes every month, Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez admits early on in her child's education career, she was not informed on the rights she and her daughter had. But when she started reading more pamphlets the school passed out, Rodriguez discovered she did have the right to have her daughter tested to see if she needed additional services. After spending some of her own money to get testing done, it was determined her daughter needed more services, but again, she says the school district told her there was not enough funding to meet those needs.

It was not until Rodriguez said she went directly to the school board did she actually see results. She said a school employee pulled her to the side following her action and told her eight other students were now getting the same services that her daughter needed and was not getting.

"So there was a gap in communication somewhere between school staff, the superintendent's offices, and the school board, because the school board had no idea that this was even a problem," Rodriguez explained.

Now her daughter, who is in the seventh grade, spends three days at home and now gets to be on campus the other two days to work on her physical and occupational therapy. She is worried the federal cuts could lead to more stories like hers.

"It's so important that parents be educated on their rights, and we need someone to help us do that," Rodriguez said.