Dismantling US Department of Education devastates Kansas families like mine | Opinion

On Nov. 18, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon moved six key offices out of the U.S. Department of Education — a major step toward dismantling the agency entirely. As a mother of a child with autism and one with dyslexia, I am deeply opposed to these actions. Eliminating or hollowing out the Department of Education will directly harm millions of children, especially those with disabilities who rely on federally enforced rights, services and protections every single day.

For students with disabilities, the Department of Education is not just a layer of bureaucracy. It is the backbone of civil rights enforcement in America’s schools. Weakening it puts children like mine in immediate jeopardy. Here are the core reasons a strong, fully staffed Department of Education is non-negotiable:

• The Department of Education enforces disability civil rights when schools fail to.

Through the Office for Civil Rights, the Department of Education investigates discrimination and ensures students with disabilities receive the services they are legally entitled to. More than 25,000 cases are pending at OCR, most involving children with disabilities. The need for oversight is overwhelming — and growing. Without a federal education department, these protections vanish.

• The Department of Education ensures that the states follow the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

States cannot monitor themselves. The Department of Education was created in 1979 because states were failing their legal obligations: Millions of children with disabilities were segregated, denied services or institutionalized. Dissolving the department would unravel decades of progress and return us to a time when disability discrimination was routine and unchecked.

• The Department of Education protects disability funding from being diverted.

The education department distributes billions in Individuals with Disabilities Education Act funds, early childhood grants, teacher training resources and supports for assistive technology. Without federal oversight, states can — and historically did — redirect money away from children with disabilities. The Department of Education ensures those dollars reach the children they are intended to serve, funding the therapies, devices, transportation and specialized instruction families depend on.

• The Department of Education gives families a way to seek justice without hiring lawyers.

The Office for Civil Rights and the Office of Special Education Programs provide accessible, no-cost avenues for families when schools fail to deliver mandated services. Without the Department of Education, only families with the resources to hire lawyers would have recourse. Rural, low-income and marginalized families would be left with nowhere to turn.

• The Department of Education guarantees a national baseline of rights.

Before the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 1.75 million children with disabilities were excluded from school entirely, and millions more received segregated or inadequate services. Eliminating the education department would create 50 different systems of rights, allowing states to lower expectations or cut corners.

• The Department of Education provides expert guidance that schools rely on.

From accessible materials to evidence-based instruction, the Department of Education develops national guidance and supports local educators. Eliminating the Department would leave schools scrambling, widen inequities between states, and create a patchwork of inconsistent policies.

• The Department of Education collects essential national data.

The Civil Rights Data Collection identifies disparities in discipline, restraint and seclusion, access to general education, and more. Without the education department, this data disappears — and so does the public’s ability to hold systems accountable.

While both of my children rely on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, it is my son Jack who keeps me up at night. Jack is 15 and has autism and limited verbal language. He requires a one-on-one aide to learn in his Blue Valley classroom. He receives speech therapy, occupational therapy and special education services — supports that exist only because of federal protections. Outside of school, we receive no help from the state of Kansas. Jack has been on the Intellectual/Developmental Disability waiver waitlist for two years, with eight more ahead. Kansas has chronically underfunded disability services, and if special education funding is shifted entirely to the state with no federal oversight, Jack’s supports will almost certainly shrink.

For families like mine, federal enforcement and direct federal funding aren’t abstract. They are the only things keeping our children from losing the services they depend on.

As a mother from Overland Park, I am asking Sens. Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran, and Rep. Sharice Davids to stand with students with disabilities, their families and their teachers. Halt all efforts to dismantle the Department of Education. Stop the relocation of critical offices, and protect the expert staff whose work upholds the rights of our children — including canceling planned reductions in force and reinstating the personnel who safeguard disability rights.

A strong, functional U.S. Department of Education is essential to the dignity, safety, and future of millions of children with disabilities. Please do not let them — or my children — down.

Anne Hayes is executive director and co-founder of Inclusive Development Partners, a woman-owned small business dedicated to improving the lives of marginalized populations. She is a proud Kansan and University of Kansas graduate who has been working on international inclusive education for more than 30 years.