Senate education committee blocks parts of Trump’s Education Department breakup - Live Updates - POLITICO

Sen. Tim Kaine negotiated a bipartisan bill to stop the department from offloading special education, K-12 programs and additional functions to other federal agencies…

 https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/07/30/congress/senate-education-trump-department-breakup-01017179

 

Why MAGA Wants To End the Department of Education

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Hxrpv-JRBYM

Medicaid cuts may impact special education services - The Washington Post

The billions that public schools get each year in reimbursements from Medicaid for services such as counseling and speech therapy are at risk, advocates warn...

Kaysee Grogan, a special-education teacher at Asheville Middle School, said Medicaid-funded services provide students with dedicated treatment for their medical needs, allowing her to focus on teaching.

A nonverbal student in her class received a tablet that improved his communication. Another student received a new wheelchair to ensure access to the entire school.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/08/06/medicaid-special-education-funding-cuts/

What is the US Department of Education and what does it do? | Trump administration | The Guardian

Among its most significant functions is administering federal student aid programs, providing billions in grants, work-study funds and loans to more than 13 million students. The agency also oversees programs addressing special education, English-language acquisition and education for disadvantaged students. 

Critics have long questioned the need for the department, arguing education should remain entirely under state and local control, while its supporters maintain it plays a crucial role in protecting educational equity and providing much-needed federal backing to schools serving vulnerable populations...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/20/what-is-department-education-trump

 

DeVos says special-education rule has not been implemented, despite court order - The Washington Post

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said Thursday her department has not begun implementing an Obama-era regulation designed to ensure children of color are not disproportionately punished or sent to special-education classrooms, despite a court order. Three weeks ago, a federal court ruled that the Trump administration must implement the rule immediately. On Thursday, DeVos told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee that the Education Department was still “reviewing the court’s decision and discussing our options.”...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/devos-says-special-education-rule-has-not-been-implemented-despite-court-order/2019/03/28/1ec2c360-5173-11e9-8d28-f5149e5a2fda_story.html

Texas saved billions cutting special education. Now the bill comes due - Bloomberg

Texas's 5.4 million students are returning to school amid the usual scramble for textbooks, lockers and desks. The state is also facing a huge problem of its own creation: how to find, evaluate and properly teach as many as 200,000 students wrongly denied special education or overlooked as it sought to limit spending for the nation's fastest-growing school population. And then there's the question of how Texas, under orders from the U.S. government, will pay for it all. ....
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-21/texas-saved-billions-cutting-special-education-now-the-bill-comes-due

NAACP, special-education advocates sue Betsy DeVos over her department’s handling of civil rights cases - The Washington Post

The plaintiffs say changes to the department's Office for Civil Rights are unlawful. ....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/naacp-special-education-advocates-sue-betsy-devos-over-her-departments-handling-of-civil-rights-cases/2018/06/01/bb8d8e44-65b7-11e8-99d2-0d678ec08c2f_story.html