By Sarah Hagen, VCU Capital News Service
RICHMOND, Va. – Stephen Poore’s son, Howdy, knows all about rocket ships.
He can tell you everything about Soyuz and Falcon Heavy rockets, and the variances between the models. He also talks endlessly about different types of bell towers, especially Big Ben and how it was renamed to Elizabeth Tower in 2012. It is a striking clock with five bells, he wants you to know.
Howdy, a third grader at Mary Munford Elementary School in Richmond, has autism. He receives support through an individualized education program, or IEP. This is a customized plan schools develop to support students with disabilities or significant learning challenges.
Poore feels fortunate to have the means to support his son, but worries for families without similar resources.
Those concerns have intensified since President Donald Trump signed an executive order March 20 to begin dismantling the Department of Education, something advocates say will disrupt resources for students with disabilities.
Trump Targets the Department of Education
The department, which provides services and oversight for programs such as special education and student aid, has the smallest workforce of any Cabinet-level agency. While Congress would need to approve closing the department, Trump has already cut more than 1,900 staff positions. That is nearly half of the department’s workforce, leaving it with fewer than 2,220 workers.
Trump blamed the DOE for historically low academic scores and believes states will do a better job educating students than the federal government.
“Closing the Department of Education would provide children and their families the opportunity to escape a system that is failing them,” Trump stated.
Various protests emerged after the order was signed, including a “study-in” outside DOE headquarters. Demonstrators raised concerns about student loans, federal student aid and special education programs.
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement they will continue to support “K-12 students, students with special needs, college student borrowers, and others who rely on essential programs.”
Parents and Educators Worry About IEP Protections
For parents like Poore, the concern is not just about funding, but also about losing the safeguards that ensure access to inclusive education.
Howdy spends most of his time in a general education classroom, but he can go to a smaller classroom with a special education teacher when needed. Such safeguards create an environment where he can thrive, and also learn vital social skills, Poore said.
Poore praised Richmond Public Schools’ support, but he is worried about the long-term future of these services.
“My concern are for students that are in Title I schools that their funding is being removed systematically by a government that wants to shrink itself,” Poore said.
Title I is a program to provide federal funding for low-income K-12 schools. The DOE allocated over $15 billion in grants for the program in the 2022 fiscal year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Around 63% of public schools are Title I eligible and may be affected by the cuts.
IDEA Under Threat
Federal law guarantees children with disabilities a free and appropriate public education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA. This includes services like IEPs, speech therapy and counseling at no cost to families. Students with disabilities must be taught in general education classrooms as much as possible, according to the DOE.
Trump’s plan would shift IDEA to the Department of Health and Human Services, which recently announced plans to eliminate 10,000 employees. The department may also have to absorb an estimated one-third cut to the discretionary budget, or $40 billion, according to the Washington Post.
But IDEA is an education law, and moving it would require congressional approval. A lawsuit challenging the move has already been filed.
Michelle Hicks, a Virginia Commonwealth University education professor who taught special education for 27 years, said federal oversight is essential to ensure consistent protections across all states.
“It was never fully funded anyway, but now without those federal funds, I think it’s going to be even worse, and then you’re going to have disparity across different states,” Hicks said.
Hicks also warned against the government adopting a “medical model” of disability. This means disabilities will be treated like problems to be fixed rather than needs to be supported.
If individual states are in charge of program upkeep without federal enforcement or proper allocation of funds, then children in poorer states and counties will bear the brunt of the effects, according to Hicks.
“People who were disenfranchised, people who are on the margins are the ones—especially those with disabilities—are the ones who are going to suffer the most,” Hicks said.
Rural Schools Dependent on Federal Funding
Virginia localities received almost 13% of their funding from the federal government during the 2024 fiscal year, according to data from the VDOE.
But 15 districts, mostly rural counties or lower-income cities, relied on federal money for 20% or more of their school funding.
Tazewell County received almost $29 million in federal funds in the last fiscal year, which accounts for 29.8% of its school budget. The county serves 250 students with disabilities, which include autism, deaf-blindness, hearing impairments and unspecified learning disabilities, according to VDOE statistics.
A quarter of Norfolk City School’s funding came from the federal government, or over $130 million. The school district serves 974 students with disabilities.
In contrast, affluent places in Northern Virginia such as Falls Church and Loudoun County received less than 3% of funding from federal sources. Rural schools get a larger percentage of federal funding than suburban schools, but less than city schools, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Loudoun County has an average household income of around $178,000, while Tazewell County has an average of around $45,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Wealthier counties can make up the difference if federal funding is lost in a way that poorer counties cannot, according to Hicks.
“States are not going to be equitable because they weren’t before,” Hicks said.
Civil Rights Enforcement Takes a Hit
The Office for Civil Rights within the DOE enforces nondiscrimination laws. The office lost 243 employees and over half of its 12 regional offices during the recent cuts, according to the Associated Press.
Some attorneys were already assigned up to 60 to 80 cases at a time, and the employment cuts will only increase that workload.
Reduced staffing could lead to delayed justice or due process for students who experience discrimination, according to Hicks.
Chad Rummel, executive director of the Council for Exceptional Children, agreed students are still legally entitled to the services, but the process could take longer.
“Ultimately, these kids are going to get what they need so much slower,” Rummel said.
‘Taking So Many Steps Backwards’
Rummel said IDEA must remain in DOE to preserve its focus on education, not health care.
“IDEA is an education law. It is not a health law,” Rummel said. “So, moving us out of the department into HHS would be horrible for these kids.”
Rummel, who previously taught journalism courses, was told students with IEPs could not take his classes. So he created a program with a special education teacher to specifically include children with disabilities in journalism classes.
“The experience of teaching in a classroom with gen-ed kids and special education kids, it’s no different,” Rummel said. “If you learn about the universal design for teaching, you teach the way that affects everybody.”
Between 2012 and 2022, around 67% of students with disabilities spent 80% or more of their time in a general education classroom, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Both forms of education need to be in the same department so they can collaborate with each other, instead of one in HHS, Rummel said.
“We’re taking so many steps backwards by doing that for these kids,” Rummel said. “They will suffer.”