Special education staff slashed in US Department of Education layoffs: Here’s why students and schools are at risk

When Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced in May that improving literacy through evidence-based practices would be a top priority, the small team at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) saw an opportunity to align their initiatives with a shared goal: boosting achievement for all students by the end of third grade. But that ambition collided with a harsh reality. Nearly half of the Education Department’s staff had already been cut through layoffs and buyouts by March. Though OSEP initially escaped the worst, continued reductions — including the recent governmentwide reduction-in-force during the federal shutdown — have left the office’s remaining 20 or so employees among the approximately 466 staffers facing termination, Education Week rep