Last week, the Senate failed for the 12th time to extend government funding and end the shutdown. The standoff continues between extremist politicians and Democrats demanding an extension of expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.
The shutdown directly impacts educators who work for the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA). These educators teach and support students on military bases stateside and around the world. They are among the federal employees who have either been furloughed, or are working without pay.
The already hollowed-out Department of Education was hit with a reduction-in-force (RIF) this month—aside from the shutdown—that cost over 400 employees their jobs. The RIFs decimated the office that oversees special education. Coupled with the Trump administration’s plan to shift management of special education to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), this will severely curtail opportunities for students with disabilities.
The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) also lost more employees with the RIF. Without the Department of Education’s expertise and enforcement, parents must be their own watchdogs. This will increase inequities between families with the means to advocate for their children, and those without.
We’re marking the 50th anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) next month, but these actions push us further away from the law’s goal: that each student with a disability has the opportunity for a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment.
As we told you last week, the shutdown means the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will run out of money November 1. Follow this link to see the impact in your state, including how many students will lose access to free school meals as a consequence of SNAP cuts. No child should go hungry because of political gridlock.
These are dark days for many of NEA’s priorities, but we take heart that lawmakers such as Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) are forcefully speaking out. Senator Merkley held the Senate floor for more than 22 hours last week to protest the Trump administration policies and the extremist-fueled federal shutdown. With that same passion, we must continue advocating for what we believe in.
Tell Congress what you think!
In Solidarity,
Kimberly Johnson Trinca
National Education Association
The Trump administration’s plan to move special education out of the Department of Education threatens our progress in meeting the needs of vulnerable students.
CHEER:Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) spearheaded a lettersigned by 43 of their Democratic colleagues to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, urging her to use existing funds under her authority to fund the SNAP program in November as the ongoing government shutdown impacts regular funding. Reps. Jahana Hayes (D-CT) and Angie Craig (D-MN) also spearheaded a letter to Secretary Rollins making the same request. Their letter was signed by nearly every Democrat in the House.
CHEER:Reps. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM), André Carson (D-IN), and Jahana Hayes (D-CT) introduced the Every Child Deserves a Head Start Act (H.R. 5774), a bill to permanently establish and protect the Office of Head Start and its 12 regional offices.
