Department of Education and Project 2025

Project 2025 has a lot to say about education. Specifically, about dismantling the U.S. Department of Education and shifting programs, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)—to other federal agencies.

So let’s talk about what that actually means.

What Project 2025 Proposes

The plan, backed by The Heritage Foundation, suggests eliminating the Department of Education. Entirely. Federal education funding and policies would be handed over to the states. Under this proposal, IDEA programs, which ensure special education services for students with disabilities, would move to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Sounds simple? It’s not.

The Department of Education currently oversees IDEA compliance, ensuring that states follow federal mandates to provide free and appropriate education (FAPE) to students with disabilities. Without a dedicated department, oversight would shift, or potentially weaken, depending on how the transition is handled (and with how things have been handled lately….).

What’s Happening Right Now?

While the current administration is denying its using Project 2025 as a framework, the Department of Education is already under scrutiny. Just this last week it was announced that the DOEd will be letting go of approximately 50% of its staff. Some lawmakers have pushed for cuts to federal education programs, arguing for more state control. Additionally, recent legal battles over Title IX, student loan forgiveness, and federal funding for special education highlight how education policy is already in flux.

In 2023, Congress debated significant budget reductions for education programs, including potential cuts to IDEA funding. This raised alarms for educators and disability advocates who worry that shifting oversight to another agency, or leaving it to the states, could lead to reduced services and protections for students with disabilities.

What That Means for Students With Disabilities

IDEA protects the rights of students with disabilities. It requires schools to provide individualized education programs (IEPs), related services (like speech therapy), and due process rights for families. If oversight moves to Health and Human Services, will enforcement remain the same? Will funding remain intact? Will families have to fight harder for services?

Research shows that federal oversight matters. A 2017 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that some states already struggle with compliance under the existing system. If states receive more autonomy with less federal enforcement, services for students with disabilities could become even more inconsistent.

The Bigger Picture

Project 2025 also proposes other major changes:

Dissolving the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the Department of Education, shifting enforcement to the Department of Justice. This would mean that discrimination complaints, including disability-related complaint, would be handled differently, potentially making it harder for families to advocate for their children.

Ending Title I funding for low-income schools, which could impact special education services in underfunded districts.

Expanding school choice programs, including vouchers that could be used for private and religious schools. While some families may see this as a benefit, private schools are not required to follow IDEA in the same way public schools are.

What We Don’t Know Yet

Will the proposed changes make services better or worse? Will states increase funding to support special education, or will they reduce it? Will families have to fight harder for what their kids are entitled to under federal law?

Parents, educators, and therapists deserve answers.

And that’s why this matters.

Because kids with disabilities aren’t an afterthought. Their rights shouldn’t be an experiment in government restructuring. And families shouldn’t have to navigate an even more complicated system just to get their children what they need.

Want to keep up with this? Share this post. Follow for updates. And let’s keep advocating together.

#IDEA #SpecialEducation #Project2025 #SpeechTherapy #EducationMatters