In July 2025, Bellwether Education Partners issued a wide‑ranging memo on behalf of nearly eight million students with disabilities, warning that the first half of the Trump administration had introduced a cascade of policy shifts that imperil access to special education services.
Bellwether reports that in 2022–23, more than 15 percent of public school students (roughly 7.9 million) received services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, up 3.4 percent from the prior year. That growth, Bellwether projects, will push the total toward 8 million by the end of the 2024–25 school year.
The non-profit groups outline how sweeping federal actions like mass layoffs of more than half the U.S. Department of Education’s workforce, restructuring of IDEA funding, and executive orders effectively dismantling the Education Department’s oversight role are eroding the infrastructure that supports special education.
The FY 2026 federal budget, while maintaining IDEA’s headline funding at approximately $15.5 billion, proposes consolidating seven separate IDEA programs—preschool, technical assistance, and teacher preparation—into a single block grant, eliminating targeted accountability and effectively erasing dedicated funding streams totaling around $677 million.
The broader package would consolidate 18 federal K‑12 programs into one simplified fund, slicing overall education funding by about $4.5 billion.
Special education advocates warn that these moves amount to “immense harm” to students with disabilities by removing accountability conditions and redistributing control to states or local districts, often without sufficient safeguards or resources.
There is also urgency around Medicaid: states could lose billions in reimbursements for services like speech therapy and counseling, putting districts in the precarious position of meeting federal mandates with shrinking budgets.
Against that backdrop, Bellwether urges state executives, education agencies, legislators, and advocates to act now.
Bellwether first calls on state leaders to issue clear, accessible guidance for schools and families, outlining how federal changes impact access to special education and what the state intends to do in response. It’s a necessary defense against ambiguity and regulatory drift, particularly as districts may mistake flexibility for permission to scale back services.
The memo urges coalitions among state agencies, local districts, disability rights organizations, and advocates to actively monitor the fallout and, when necessary, use legal or policy mechanisms to enforce accountability.
Furthermore, the non-profit groups urge states to examine and strengthen their financing systems—for example, by employing differentiated funding weights that reflect the actual cost of serving high‑need students, ensuring accurate identification and service tracking, and protecting state financial support for special education even as federal backing weakens.
Bellwether’s previous analysis shows that federal funds make up only about 8 percent of total school funding, but disproportionately shape disability services. Without innovative state systems, districts may bear growing unfunded costs as IDEA dollars stagnate.
The memo recommends expanding wraparound supports—food aid, housing stability, health services—for families facing economic pressure. These efforts are essential because external stressors like hunger or homelessness amplify educational barriers for students with disabilities, undermining IEP goals and inclusive placements.
Finally, Bellwether urges states to codify or reinforce their policy protections under IDEA, Section 504, and the ADA so that local compliance does not erode even if federal priorities shift.
This requirement becomes especially important if the U.S. Department of Education continues to shrink or change authority to other agencies, as projected under Project 2025, which envisions dismantling the department altogether and transferring special‑education oversight to Health and Human Services.
In recent months, Senate leaders across party lines rebuffed broad Trump administration proposals to slash K‑12 funding and dismantle the Education Department. But those symbolic victories do not guarantee long‑term protection.
As Bellwether makes clear, the reliance on block grants, reduced federal technical assistance centers, and fewer enforcement tools leaves gaps that states must proactively fill.
To put the stakes bluntly: nearly 8 million students are at risk, not because their needs have changed, but because institutions meant to secure those needs are being dismantled. High‑quality education for students with disabilities requires trained personnel, targeted funding, robust oversight, and stable support structures.
The Bellwether memo argues that without immediate state action—clear guidance, coordinated advocacy, financial systems that match need, and wraparound services—many of those pillars will crumble. And the consequences will be felt most by students whose disabilities make them the most vulnerable in an already unequal system.
