For months, there have been concerns that the U.S. Department of Education could allow millions in special education research dollars to lapse. Now, a federal judge is stepping in.
U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs is ordering the Education Department to update her by Monday about the status of the government’s education research funds.
As of last week, about $180 million in funding for the Education Department’s Institute of Education Sciences, or IES, which handles statistics, research and evaluation, remained unallocated and is set to expire at the end of September, Burroughs said. It’s unclear how much of that is intended for special education.
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The situation comes after a report this spring warned that just $11 million out of $77 million in the government’s budget for special education research and evaluation program had been spoken for. Subsequently, the National Center for Learning Disabilities, the Massachusetts Teachers Association and other stakeholders sued to prevent the funds from lapsing.
Burroughs said she opted to take a soft touch in the case based on assurances from the Education Department “that they intend to obligate the funds at issue before the deadline.”
However, she noted that “if it appears, as September 30 approaches, that defendants have misled the court and the funds will not be obligated by the deadline, the court may reconsider whether there has been undue delay warranting injunctive relief.”
Despite the agency’s assurances to the court, however, the status of the funding remains murky.
Meghan Burke, a professor of special education at Vanderbilt University, said that so far this year there have only been five awards from the National Center for Special Education Research, the special education funding arm of IES. All of the grants began this month. That volume is “lower than a typical year,” she said.
Jacqueline Rodriguez, CEO of the National Center for Learning Disabilities, which is part of the litigation, said she believes that it’s realistic for the funds to be released in light of the government’s assurances, but has limited information to go on.
“We don’t have a current number for exactly how much special education research funding remains unspent because the government has not publicly updated those figures,” Rodriguez said. But, she noted that requests for proposals have gone out, which she said was likely spurred by the lawsuit.
Preventing the funding from expiring, however, is critical, Rodriguez said.
“This funding supports research that gives us a much clearer picture of what students with disabilities are experiencing in schools and where they are not getting the support they need. It also supports work that benefits students in general education, as well as technical assistance that helps families understand and participate in the special education process,” she said. “If we don’t have that research and support, we’re making decisions without the information we need to know whether we’re actually serving students well.”
The Department of Education did not respond to questions about how much special education research funding remains unallocated.
“IES intends to use its remaining FY25 funds to fully fund existing research grants, as well as to support other high-quality statistical and evaluation activities in service of its statutory obligations,” a department spokesperson said.
The order related to education research funds comes as a different federal judge ruled in a separate case brought by a coalition of states that the Education Department erred in the way in which it canceled hundreds of millions of dollars in grants for teacher training. The grants included funding to prepare educators to work with students with disabilities.
“The ruling is a victory for students, teachers and schools and common sense as our nation’s schools struggle with teacher training, hiring and retention,” said Stephanie Smith Lee, co-director of policy and advocacy at the National Down Syndrome Congress. She previously served as director of the Education Department’s Office of Special Education Programs under President George W. Bush.
Yet another case brought by states related to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act grants for special education teacher training has yet to be decided.
