A key U.S. Senate panel rejected a Trump administration push to make major changes to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and defund some disability programs, but significant uncertainty remains, advocates say.
President Donald Trump proposed the changes in his budget request to Congress for the government’s upcoming fiscal year, which begins in October.
Under the plan, funding would be eliminated for University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, or UCEDDs, as well as a program at protection and advocacy agencies that helps ensure people with disabilities have access to voting and other disability programs. Meanwhile, Trump is seeking changes to IDEA in order to consolidate funding and give states more control over where dollars are directed.
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That effort hit a roadblock, however, late last month when the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill to fund federal labor, education and health and human services programs. The measure, which passed with a bipartisan vote of 26 to 3, maintains level funding for UCEDDs, the voting program and other disability initiatives under the federal Administration for Community Living and supports keeping the agency in place despite Trump administration plans to break it up.
In addition, the appropriations bill retains the existing funding structure for IDEA and directs the administration to release funds as appropriated, avoid staffing cuts at the Department of Education and to keep special education oversight at the agency, spurning a plan to move the programs to the Department of Health and Human Services.
“It is an important first step that the Senate appropriations committee rejected the cuts to disability programs proposed by the Trump administration, and it is a testament to the hard work and advocacy of the disability community,” said Alison Barkoff, a health law and policy professor at George Washington University who previously led the Administration for Community Living.
Disability advocates have been pushing back against the cuts for months.
In a June letter to lawmakers organized by the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities, more than three-dozen organizations characterized the idea of ending funding for UCEDDs as “dangerous and misguided.” The centers, which have existed in every state for more than 60 years, provide everything from early intervention programs and autism evaluations to training on developmental disabilities for families, self-advocates and professionals in the community.
“The elimination of UCEDDs would harm people with developmental disabilities in every part of the country, rural, urban, red state, and blue state alike,” the letter states. “UCEDDs help families navigate complex systems, evaluate young children for developmental delays, support inclusive education practices, train doctors and direct support professionals, and develop new models of service delivery that improve lives and save public dollars.”
More recently, 14 former Education Department officials who were responsible for overseeing IDEA implementation under Republican and Democratic administrations dating back to President Richard Nixon urged Congress to “maintain the existing statutory authority for ED to oversee all education programs and not eliminate the department or move offices within ED to other departments.” Doing so, they said, is “essential to students with disabilities and all students.”
Stephanie Smith Lee who served as director of the Education Department’s Office of Special Education Programs under President George W. Bush and is now co-director of policy and advocacy at the National Down Syndrome Congress said she believes the former officials’ letter “provided some ‘cover’ for members.”
Still, Lee and other advocates warned that the budget process is just getting started and a lot could change.
“While the Senate text is a step in the right direction, we have a long way to go and do not see ourselves as being ‘safe,’” said Lillie Heigl, director of policy at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities, a national association for UCEDDs and other similar programs.
“The Senate will still have debate and a floor vote on this bill. The House has yet to mark up their own (labor, education and health and human services) text,” she said. “We expect this version will not be as favorable to disability programs, including UCEDDs.”
Congress is not scheduled to reconvene until after Labor Day at which point there will be a short window to finalize spending plans before the new fiscal year begins. Advocates are already concerned that if lawmakers are unable to reach an agreement by the end of September and they opt for a short-term funding extension, the Trump administration could push for a rescissions package or withhold funding as has happened before.
“My biggest, most important thing I’m stressing with folks is that this is positive but we can’t let up,” Heigl said. “We still have a lot of work to do.”
