2025 Federal Advocacy

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The Center for Learner Equity Supports Congressional Appropriations for the Department of Education

Washington, D.C. – In response to yesterday’s release of the negotiated Fiscal Year 2026 funding package for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, the Center for Learner Equity (CLE) thanks House and Senate appropriators for affirming the Department of Education’s (ED) critical role and ensuring all aspects of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) are funded. Each component of the IDEA (Parts B, C, and D) reaches distinctly different constituents, from students with disabilities birth to 21, their families, and educators, to supports for districts and charter schools on implementing best practices, to critical research, and more. The funding package must be agreed upon to fully fund the government before the January 30 deadline. “Appropriators have made their intent and directives clear: The Department of Education has an ongoing responsibility to carry out programs and activities that Congress has singularly directed the agency to do,” said Jennifer Coco, Interim Executive Director of CLE. “Language in the legislation requires ED to continue functioning. What’s more, we appreciate Congress recognizing that every subpart of our K-12 education statutes is essential by directing funding for IDEA Parts B, C, and D, and Title I, Title II, Title IV, […]

From Head Start to Civil Rights, 8 Ways Trump Reshaped Education in Just 1 Year

 “There is a sense of fear and chaos in schools. They’re already operating on razor-thin margins. What they can neither handle nor sustain is more delays. Or the notion that federal reporting is now getting spread across multiple agencies.” – Jennifer Coco, interim executive director of the Center for Learner Equity.  The path to dismantle the Department of Education through executive orders, layoffs, and canceled contracts last year seriously threatened essential services of millions of children with disabilities.  Especially when Secretary Linda McMahon acknowledged that nothing will remain in the department. That means continued uncertainty for our nation’s schools Read the full piece in The 74 here.

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The Center for Learner Equity continues to condemn dismantling the Department of Education

Washington, D.C. – The Center for Learner Equity (CLE) continues to vehemently oppose moving the functions of the Department of Education (ED) to other federal departments. This plan jeopardizes the rights and education of 8 million children with disabilities.  While the six interagency agreements announced on Tuesday, November 18, 2025 do not include a plan to move the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services or the Office for Civil Rights, these functions remain under threat. The actions taken are not only harmful, they are unlawful. This includes moving all functions of the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), which administers K-12 grant programs including the Charter School Program, to the Department of Labor.   “Students with disabilities are students first, but today’s actions separate programs for students with disabilities from all K-12 education programs,” said Jennifer Coco, Interim Executive Director of CLE. “This should not be a partisan issue. Dismantling the Department of Education will have negative consequences for children across the nation. We urge the Administration to reverse this decision, and we urge Congress to immediately conduct oversight hearings in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and the House Education and Workforce Committee. And we will […]

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Oversight Hearing Request: Impact of ED RIF on OSERS

CLE, along with 60+ other national organizations signed onto a  joint letter calling on the Senate HELP Committee to convene a Senate Oversight Hearing about ED’s lay-offs and dismantling of ED’s ability to implement its required functions.  The letter is linked below. Oversight Hearing Request_Impact of ED RIF on OSERS__final

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Broad Coalition Condemns the Department of Education for Ending Support for Students with Disabilities

The Center for Learner Equity (CLE) is proud to stand with over 400 national, state, local, civil rights, education, and disability advocacy organizations in condemning the mass layoffs at the Department of Education — jeopardizing decades of progress in protecting students with disabilities. We urge the Administration and Congress to restore staffing and supports at the Department of Education immediately. It’s a moral and legal obligation for our nation’s children with disabilities. Full statement here.  #disability #protectspecialeducation #DontTurnBackTheClock #ProtectChildrenWithDisabilities  #FiveAlarmFire #ProtectIDEA Department of Education Condemned for Ending Support for Students with Disabilities

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The Center for Learner Equity denounces massive layoffs of federal special education staff

Washington, D.C. – The Center for Learner Equity (CLE) strongly opposes the administration’s recent action of gutting the key offices that oversee special education programs. Decimating these offices directly harms the education of more than 8 million students with disabilities across the nation. On Friday, October 10, 2025, the entirety of the Department of Education’s special education and K-12 education infrastructure, from the Office of Special Education Programs to the Charter School Program Office, was rendered non-functioning through massive layoffs. This reduction-in-force, or RIF, makes it nearly impossible for the Department to fulfill its duties on behalf of students with disabilities, their families, and schools.  “The education of students with disabilities is a nonpartisan issue that should be insulated from politics,” said Jennifer Coco, Interim Executive Director of CLE.  “Despite Education Secretary Linda McMahon repeatedly committing to uplifting the rights of students with disabilities, the administration chose to gut the offices responsible for ensuring states are upholding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). We urge Secretary McMahon to reverse the layoffs and rise above partisan politics in the interest of supporting the education of students in every community across the nation—1 in 5 of which is a student with […]