Trump Seeks to Close Education Dept, Special‑Ed Advocates Alarmed

When Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, the move sent shockwaves through schools, parents and disability groups across the nation. The order, issued on an undisclosed date in October 2025, would shift oversight of the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) to the Department of Health and Human Services, a pivot championed by the conservative Project 2025 blueprint. Parents of roughly 7.5 million students with disabilities, along with advocacy leaders, warned that the plan could cripple the very services the law was designed to protect.

At a briefing in Washington, D.C. on October 17, 2025, Linda McMahon, the newly confirmed Secretary of Education, told reporters the administration was “sending education back to the states where it so rightly belongs.” The declaration came just two months after her Senate confirmation on March 15, 2025, and followed a tense meeting with the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) earlier that month.

Background: IDEA and the Federal Role in special education

Passed in 1975, the IDEA guarantees a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) for children with disabilities. Over the past five decades, the Department of Education has been the primary enforcer, issuing regulations, handling complaints, and disbursing billions in federal aid to local school districts. By 2022, the federal government spent roughly $34 billion annually on IDEA‑related programs.

Historically, attempts to dilute the law have faced strong pushback. The Reagan administration’s 1981 effort to weaken IDEA enforcement sparked a 27 percent surge in due‑process complaints, a warning that policymakers hear all too well.

Trump Administration’s Executive Order and Project 2025

The October order aligns with Section 5.2 of the 920‑page The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, a manifesto co‑authored with the America First Policy Institute and the Claremont Institute. The plan lists “elimination of the Department of Education” as a top priority and earmarks the Department of Health and Human Services—currently focused on adult disability programs—as the new home for IDEA oversight.

McMahon’s accompanying statement boasted that the move would “cut tens of billions of dollars” in wasteful spending while preserving funding for K‑12 and college students. She pledged an “orderly transition” through the 119th Congress, where Republicans hold 53 Senate seats and 220 House seats.

Yet, the Department of Health and Human Services, headquartered at 200 Independence Avenue SW in Washington, D.C., has no existing division for K‑12 education policy. Its current portfolio includes Medicare, Medicaid, the NIH, and the Administration for Community Living—a mismatch that many experts find alarming.

Reactions from Advocates and Experts

During an April 15, 2025 meeting, Jacqueline Rodriguez, CEO of NCLD, asked McMahon point‑blank, “Who will answer a parent’s question about their child’s individualized education plan?” Rodriguez, who has led NCLD since 2020 and previously worked at the American Institutes for Research, warned that HHS’s public‑health focus simply isn’t equipped to handle complex compliance issues.

Coalition leaders from the Council for Exceptional Children, Understood.org and other groups announced a summit for October 24, 2025 in Washington, D.C. to coordinate legal challenges. Their brief cites the 2017 Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District ruling, which raised the substantive benefit standard for IDEA, arguing that moving oversight could trigger violations of the Administrative Procedure Act.

Legal scholar Prof. Perry A. Zirkel of Syracuse University warned that HHS lacks “the requisite expertise and procedural safeguards” required for agency rulemaking under the APA, potentially opening the door to immediate injunctions.

Legal and Congressional Hurdles

Abolishing a Cabinet‑level department isn’t as simple as signing a memo. The Constitution mandates that a federal department can only be eliminated by an act of Congress. While Republicans dominate both chambers, any legislation must clear the Senate’s filibuster threshold or be packaged with broader budget bills.

House Republican leadership has signaled support, but moderate members worried about the political fallout from disrupting services for millions of students. Senate Finance Committee Chair Sen. Mike Crapo (R‑ID) requested a detailed fiscal impact analysis before moving forward.

Meanwhile, state education officials are split. Governors in Texas and Florida praised the proposal as “returning control to the states,” whereas the governors of New York and California warned of “federal retreat that will leave vulnerable children behind.”

What’s Next? Potential Outcomes and Timeline

In the short term, the Department of Education will continue operating while the administration drafts legislation. If Congress acts quickly—say by early 2026—the transition could begin as soon as the fiscal year starts on October 1, 2026. However, legal challenges from NCLD and allied groups could stall the process for years.

Should the plan survive, the likely scenario is a bifurcated system: states would receive direct funding streams for general K‑12 education, while HHS would manage a separate block of disability‑specific grants. Critics argue this could create “a patchwork of standards” that varies wildly from one state to another.

• IDEA serves ≈ 7.5 million students nationwide.
• Projected savings claimed by the administration: tens of billions annually.
• Congressional approval required; Republican majorities but potential filibuster.
• Legal experts predict immediate lawsuits citing APA and Endrew F. precedent.
• Coalition of advocacy groups planning legal action by late October 2025.

For families, the uncertainty could mean delayed assessments, interrupted services, and a scramble to navigate new bureaucratic channels. For the broader education system, the debate highlights an ongoing ideological tug‑of‑war over federal versus state control—a battle that has shaped every major education reform since the 1960s.