Under Pressure, FEMA To Restore Emergency Response Training Focused On Disabilities

The country’s top emergency response agency says it will bring back training on meeting the needs of people with disabilities in disasters after it was halted last year.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency removed the training from its curriculum in 2025 in response to various executive orders, according to a report issued this week by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. As a result, no training has been offered for more than a year.

“Without this training, FEMA’s state and local partners risk not being able to effectively assist people with disabilities,” GAO said in the report, which urges the agency to reverse course.

In response, FEMA said it will restore the training.

“FEMA agrees with the importance of providing state, local, tribal and territorial partners with practical training and technical assistance to support emergency management so that the needs of individuals with disabilities are addressed before, during and after disasters,” the agency told GAO.

FEMA indicated that it will “redesign and strengthen training support” before determining the best approach to make it available again. The agency indicated that this is expected to be complete by next September.

In addition to the recommendation to reinstate disability training, GAO also urged FEMA to standardize the role of its regional disability specialists who coordinate with local officials and to solicit feedback from people with disabilities to improve its process for assistance applications.

The agency said it will follow through on both suggestions.

GAO noted in its report that people with disabilities are more likely than others to experience hardship resulting from a disaster, but between 2022 and 2025 they were less likely to be approved for assistance from FEMA.