{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/icymi-warren-colleagues-warn-trumps-dismantling-of-special-education-services-deprives-children-with-disabilities-of-equal-education", "ICYMI: Warren, Colleagues Warn Trump\u2019s Dismantling of Special Education Services Deprives Children with Disabilities of \u201cEqual Education\u201d", "2025-10-23", "2025", "2025-10", "Democrat", "Senate", "MA", "Elizabeth Warren", "W000817", "www.warren.senate.gov", "warren", "https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "ICYMI: Warren, Colleagues Warn Trump\u2019s Dismantling of Special Education Services Deprives Children with Disabilities of \u201cEqual Education\u201d\n\nCuts to Education Department\u2019s Office of Special Education may violate the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act\n\n\u201cWe must do more, not less, to support children with disabilities and their families\u2026We demand you reverse the firing of the staff at these critical offices\u201d\n\nText of Letter (PDF)\n\nWashington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Senate colleagues called out the Trump Administration\u2019s efforts to dismantle U.S. special education with its decision to illegally fire the Department of Education workers who provide education services and resources for people with disabilities and their families. In a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, the Senators stressed that firing nearly all of the employees of the Department of Education\u2019s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) will leave the Administration unable to meet its legal obligation to ensure access to a quality education for people with disabilities.\n\n\u201cWe call on you to immediately end your illegal effort to fire these workers and ensure the offices are restored so that the staff can effectively implement statutorily required responsibilities assigned to the Secretary of Education,\u201d said the lawmakers.\n\nUnder the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), every student in America is legally entitled to a free, appropriate public education.\n\n\u201cBy effectively closing these offices, you have sent a clear message: the Trump Administration does not believe that children with disabilities deserve an equal education,\u201d said the senators.\n\nThe senators emphasized the Administration\u2019s legal obligation to carry out education programs for Americans with disabilities, noting that the Administration has previously fired staff that oversee the implementation of IDEA and canceled investments in improving accessibility for students.\n\n\u201cWe have already heard from families across the country who are fearful of losing services given the Department\u2019s actions. We demand you reverse the firing of the staff at these critical offices,\u201d the senators concluded.\n\nSenator Warren was joined in sending the letter by Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n (D-N.M.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.).\n\nAs part of her Save Our Schools campaign, Senator Warren has stood up to the Trump administration\u2019s attacks on the American education system:\n\nOn October 15, 2025, Senator Warren and Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) led 70 members of Congress in a letter calling on the Trump administration to address the ongoing and unprecedented wave of student loan delinquencies and defaults, which threatens the financial stability of millions of people and could have disastrous effects on the American economy.\n\nOn September 19, 2025, following a push by Senator Warren and nine other senators, the Acting Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Education agreed to open an investigation into DOGE\u2019s infiltration of internal systems, including the scope of its access to sensitive student loan borrower information and its impact on borrowers\u2019 rights and privacy.\n\nOn August 26, 2025, Senator Warren led colleagues in sending a follow-up letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon condemning the Department of Education for deliberately hiding the \u201cSubmit a Complaint\u201d button on the Office of Federal Student Aid\u2019s website, firing employees responsible for providing customer service to borrowers and families, and misleading Congress about the scope of these firings.\n\nOn August 7, 2025, Senator Warren publicly released Secretary of Education Linda McMahon\u2019s response to the senator\u2019s 60+ questions and pressed for additional information. Senator Warren announced that she would refer certain matters where the Department has proved uncooperative to the Government Accountability Office and the Education Department\u2019s Inspector General.\n\nOn July 24, 2025, Senator Elizabeth Warren, in a forum held by Senator Mazie Hirono, \u201cRobbing Our Students\u2019 Futures: The Indefensible Attacks on Public Education,\u201d highlighted the consequences of President Donald Trump and Secretary Linda McMahon\u2019s cuts to the Department of Education for students with disabilities and their families.\n\nOn July 17, 2025, Senator Warren released a 23-page report highlighting warnings from 11 major national education and civil rights organizations on the impact of the Trump administration\u2019s dismantling of the Department of Education and slashing support to millions of American students, primary and secondary school teachers, administrators, parents, and student loan borrowers.\n\nOn July 14, 2025, Senator Warren joined 31 of her colleagues in demanding that Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought and Education Secretary Linda McMahon immediately release the nearly $7 billion in funding for K-12 schools and adult literacy programs across America that is currently being illegally withheld by the Trump administration.\n\nOn June 10, 2025, Senator Warren met with Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and delivered over 1,000 letters from people in all 50 states who are worried about the Secretary\u2019s efforts to dismantle the Department of Education.\n\nOn April 2, 2025, Senator Warren launched the Save Our Schools campaign to fight back against the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to gut the Department of Education.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/icymi-warren-colleagues-warn-trumps-dismantling-of-special-education-services-deprives-children-with-disabilities-of-equal-education"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8434071205556393, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}