Explained: Why the Trump administration has laid off special education workers in the US Education Department

In a move that has stunned educators and disability advocates, the Trump administration has laid off nearly all employees working in the U.S. Department of Education’s special education offices. The decision affects the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) and its core division, the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Officials have called it a “reduction in force,” part of a broader plan to cut costs during the ongoing government shutdown, reports NPR. But internal communications and public statements suggest the move is tied to a larger goal: downsizing the Education Department and eventually transferring many of its functions to other federal agencies. The administration plans to move oversight of federal special education from the Department of