Education Secretary Linda McMahon is currently on a "Returning Education to the States Tour," traveling state to state to promote the dismantling of the Department of Education.
To actually eliminate the DoE would take an act of Congress, but the Trump Administration has cut its workforce nearly in half making it incredibly difficult for the department to meet its responsibilities. These cuts were recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
One of DoE’s responsibilities is distributing grants through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to pay for special education.
An adult and a child playing with colorful geometric toys at a wooden table, with plants in the background.
In 1973, Congress passed IDEA to make sure that children with disabilities were provided the necessary resources to receive an education. As part of IDEA, the federal government committed to cover 40% of the cost with states picking up the rest. However, the federal government has never met that 40% commitment. Instead, the federal government has covered around 12%. And that was with a fully functioning Department of Education.
So it is understandable that people with disabilities–whether students, family members, or advocates–have serious concerns about the future of education funding for students with disabilities.
Unfortunately, McMahon does not seem to be taking those concerns seriously.
"I think that is the least worry that anyone should have because Congress appropriates that money and it flows through whichever agency will be distributing it,” McMahon told CBS News, stating that the money “will continue to flow.”
In other words, “Trust us.” But the current administration has not earned the trust of disability advocates. President Trump himself has a history of disparaging people with disabilities, from mocking a reporter in 2015 to blaming a 2025 plane crash on an initiative to hire people with disabilities at the FAA to his recent executive order calling for the institutionalization of people with mental health disabilities.
Person reading a Braille book with both hands.
“Whichever agency will be distributing” IDEA money if the DoE disappears has yet to be determined. What we do know is that there are a lot of students and schools counting on those funds. According to CBS, “Currently, the department provides special education grants that supplement state funding for the more than 7.5 million students with disabilities.”
Those students are also counting on their state budgets. The Michigan legislature has yet to pass a school budget, which means school districts across the state are making fiscal decisions without necessary information. The Michigan legislature currently has a Republican majority in the House and a Democratic majority in the Senate. We hope that Michigan legislators, regardless of party, will prioritize passing an education budget that ensures all students have what they need to learn and grow.
With so much uncertainty surrounding federal funding, we are counting on our state legislature to make sure students with disabilities are not shut out of a quality education.