A low-angle view of the U.S. Department of Education building at 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C., with a brown sign in the foreground displaying the department's name. The sky is partly cloudy with a lens flare visible.
Let’s be real: Without the U.S. Department of Education, millions of disabled students will be left behind.
If you’re not paying attention to what’s happening, now is the time to start.
The Trump administration is making good on its long-standing goal to shut down the Department of Education—a move that could hamper enforcement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the very laws that make education accessible for students with disabilities.
Additionally, 17 states have filed a lawsuit aiming to dismantle Section 504 entirely.
I know firsthand how much these protections matter.
Without Section 504 accommodations, I wouldn’t have made it through school, let alone built a career. I had the tools I needed not because the system was generous, but because it was my legal right. These protections weren’t optional, and they weren’t a privilege—they were the reason I succeeded.
Now, those rights are under attack.
Trump’s nominee for education secretary, Linda McMahon, has been told to “put herself out of a job”—meaning her role isn’t to strengthen education but to dismantle the very department she’s supposed to lead.
Without the Department of Education enforcing these laws, millions of disabled students will face fewer services, fewer trained educators and fewer legal protections.
Denise Stile Marshall, CEO of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc., put it bluntly to Disability Scoop: “We see no indication that the administration understands its obligation to protect our kids.”
And that’s the terrifying part: They don’t care.
People love to talk about how “resilient” disabled people are, how we should just keep fighting. But here’s the truth: We’re exhausted.
Every single day, we have to fight for basic access, for accommodations, for a seat at the table. And now, we’re fighting to keep the very laws that made our education possible.
If you care about equity, if you care about education, if you care about civil rights—this is your fight too.