Special education advocates in Wisconsin are concerned about the potential impact of layoffs in the U.S. Department of Education offices that oversee special education programs.

Last week, the Trump administration made a reduction-in-force for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services that will leave limited staff in place for the monitoring and oversight of special education. It was part of 466 layoffs across the Education Department last week.

The White House has made a push to shrink the U.S. Department of Education to return more control to individual states.

Heidi Siebert is an education partner for the Wisconsin Special Education Mediation System and director of special education for CESA 7, the educational support organization that serves the Green Bay region.

She told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” that she is worried about what happens when fewer federal workers are available to help enforce the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that ensures access to special education. 

“These layoffs, coupled with the other cuts that have been made, could potentially be devastating to the oversight and the ability of parents and schools to remedy when things arise,” Siebert said. 

The office oversees the federal budget for special education and the development of Individual Education Programs, or IEPs, that are required under federal law to document each student’s learning needs and progress.

A spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction told WPR they can’t speculate on the potential impacts of these changes in the Department of Education, but as of now, federal special education funding remains in place.

Siebert said Wisconsin has its own special education laws on the books to help protect access to these services, but she’s concerned about the broader impacts.

“It’s a civil rights law, and so while Wisconsin might step up, what about the other 7.5 million students in our country that have disabilities?” Siebert said. “I’m not worried about Wisconsin, but I am worried about each and every student across the country.”

One of those students was once Sydney Badeau. She’s now the chair of the Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities, and she credits the support she received from special education for helping her develop a successful career in nonprofit advocacy.

She told “Wisconsin Today” that she wants the next generation of students with disabilities to have the same opportunities.

“It is going to be devastating for kids who are receiving special education services,” Badeau said. “Especially if things aren’t followed through with IEPs or accommodations that need to happen, and they don’t have anyone at the federal level to go to.”

One of the concerns for Wisconsin students is a recent cut to federal grant funding in the state for the Special Educator Induction Program that attracts and trains special education teachers.

The Department of Education cancelled the grant at the end of August because of concerns over the program’s diversity, equity and inclusion goals.

Siebert manages the program for CESA 7 and said the funding cuts will make it harder for them to retain special education teachers at a time when the state is struggling to keep them in place.

“It’s crisis-level,” she said. “Twenty years ago, a lot of (special education teachers) were coming out of traditional programs. They’re not anymore.”