Durbin Sounds Alarm On The Trump Administration Upending Head Start & Continuing Attacks On Special Education
At a Senate forum, the Illinois Democrat said moving the Education Department’s special education office to HHS would undermine support for students with disabilities.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today questioned witnesses at Senator Mazie Hirono’s (D-HI) spotlight forum entitled “Breaking the Promise: How Relocating the IDEA Will Be Detrimental to Students and Families.” During the forum, Durbin sounded the alarm on the Trump Administration’s plans to shuffle the Department of Education’s (ED) Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), an agency that lacks the experience and expertise to help students with disabilities access a public education.
“They [the Trump Administration] doesn’t have sensitivity to issues like racial disparity but they seem to want to fly right into the face of it to re-write history where they can [and] to eliminate programs that are arguing for equality… The Department of Education was created in the 1960s and I think for the same purpose [as Head Start]—to make sure the school districts of America fought [for] fairness when it came to giving kids a chance and now the Trump Administration wants to dismantle that effort,” said Durbin.
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Durbin first asked Ms. Valerie Williams, the former Director of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) under the Biden Administration, whether HHS and ED serve different purposes. Ms. Williams responded that Durbin is “not wrong” and that Congress and special education advocates must continue to support public education for both students with disabilities and low-income students.
Durbin went on to speak about the importance of special education.
“I don’t think what this Administration is proposing is helping whatsoever [with special education programs].” Durbin stated.
Ms. Katy Neas, CEO of The Arc of the United States, a national organization advocating for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, responded that Durbin’s sentiments about special education and this Administration are “spot on.” She continued to note that the public education system needs to be better at teaching students with learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, with the tools they need to succeed.
During the forum, Durbin reflected on his education growing up in East St. Louis, Ill., and the need for the surrounding public schools to succeed so the communities succeed.
Durbin concluded, “[T]his Administration… is squeezing [school districts] when it comes to… resources and discouraging a generation of special ed[ucation] teachers in the process.”
Video of Durbin’s questions are available here.
Audio of Durbin’s questions are available here.
The hearing examined how the Trump Administration’s interagency agreements (IAAs)—which shift significant administrative responsibilities from the Department of Education (ED) to the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Justice (DOJ)—could affect students with disabilities and their families.
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