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Sara Nović @novicsara.bsky.social · 4h

And, the office of Rehabilitative Services (RSA). My sources say that whole office is gone. This means no funding, oversight, or support for states' Vocational Rehab programs, which help disabled people transition into the workforce with guidance, funding for secondary coursework and job placement.

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Sara Nović @novicsara.bsky.social · 4h

(A lot of people are about to learn the hard way that their district is not complying with the IEP process out of the goodness of their hearts, or because they have high moral ideals about inclusion. At the administrative level, they exist almost entirely not to get the district sued.)

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Sara Nović @novicsara.bsky.social · 4h

Now--IDEA is still law, of course. But what happens if a district who has either been minimally complying or is actually trying their best but has zero money realizes there are no legal oversight or consequences for violating it anymore? No one works there. No one investigates complaints.

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Sara Nović @novicsara.bsky.social · 4h

Today, it is often *still* a fight to get kids the services they need. Districts are cash-strapped, ableist af, or both! IDEA has a built in process of escalation that parents can follow to get a school to comply with their kid's legal rights.

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Sara Nović @novicsara.bsky.social · 4h

The bigger issue, though, is oversight. OSERS and the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) exist to make sure that students are not being discriminated against. OSERS specifically exists because before it and IDEA, districts would just say no, we don't do disabilities. And that was that.

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Sara Nović @novicsara.bsky.social · 4h

The federal government pays about 13-40% of IDEA related costs via formula grants on a state by state basis. This is already VERY not enough money. Now there is no one in the office to physically disburse these funds, which, btw P2025 planned to do away with anyway.

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Sara Nović @novicsara.bsky.social · 4h

First, OSERS oversees the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) the law that gives disabled kids a right to K-12 public education, and accommodations and specialized instruction through the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process. So first, but actually the smaller concern, funding:

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Sara Nović @novicsara.bsky.social · 4h

Yesterday we received word that the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) within Dept of Ed (DoEd) was gutted--right now we believe there is no one or nearly no one left. But what does it mean? 1/11

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morninggloryvt.bsky.social @morninggloryvt.bsky.social · 5h

This will all start the death spiral of public schools as good teachers burn out and leave, and families with means get out. You can't torpedo the education of 15-20% of students without having it affect entire communities.

morninggloryvt.bsky.social @morninggloryvt.bsky.social · 5h

Many parents (mostly mothers) whose kids are denied an appropriate education will be forced to stop or cut back on working in order to homeschool, stay home when their kids are sent home from school, or deal with increased advocacy demands.

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morninggloryvt.bsky.social @morninggloryvt.bsky.social · 5h

Cuts to Medicaid will further strap public schools because many states/schools bill Medicaid for special education services.

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morninggloryvt.bsky.social @morninggloryvt.bsky.social · 5h

Parents of disabled kids who have the means will sue, homeschool, or send their kids to private school, but many kids will remain in public schools while not receiving an appropriate education. Schools, towns, and states will be stretched to make up for federal funding.

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morninggloryvt.bsky.social @morninggloryvt.bsky.social · 5h

Many kids who are denied an appropriate education are in distress and they are not quiet about it (I don't blame them!). Teachers will be stressed trying to educate kids on IEPs without resources and this will affect the education of ALL kids.

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morninggloryvt.bsky.social @morninggloryvt.bsky.social · 5h

I have a lot of experience knowing what it looks like when disabled kids are denied an appropriate education. This isn't just going to harm those kids; it's going to affect entire schools and communities. 🧵

USA TODAY @usatoday.com · 1d

The Education Department laid off nearly everyone at the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.

Education Department wipes out special ed office in shutdown layoffs, union says

The Education Department laid off nearly everyone at the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.

bit.ly

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Julia Métraux @juliametraux.bsky.social · 16h

This article I had published at @motherjones.com in January feels very relevant with federal special ed office layoffs. Project 2025 targeted disability education services. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Project 2025's plan to dismantle public education—and screw over disabled kids

Nearly nine million students rely on DOE-backed disability accommodations.

www.motherjones.com

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Gravel Influencer @gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · 21h

It's utterly devastating to see decades of progress for the disability community being wiped out in just a few months.

There was of course much work to be done, but now that effort will have to be devoted to clawing back the gains now being ripped away.

David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social · 21h

The end of federal enforcement of special ed laws. Some states - including MN - will likely be ok. But a lot of disabled kids in a lot of states are going to lose the education that federal law and decades of jurisprudence say they are owed.

Education Department wipes out special ed office in shutdown layoffs, union says

The Education Department laid off nearly everyone at the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.

www.usatoday.com

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C.H. Romatowski @chromatowski.bsky.social · 1d

Long Covid and IACC advocacy cannot be condoning a regime that’s undertaking this project. There is no version that ends well for us.

Julia Carrie Wong @joolia.bsky.social · 1d

The promotion of pseudoscience about a supposed “cause” or “cure” of autism and the destruction of special education (and all of public education, really) are part of the same project. It is a fascist attempt to expel certain people from the body politic, based in eugenics.

Sara Partridge, Ph.D. @sarapartridge.bsky.social · 1d

There are reports that the *entire* office of special education at the US Dept of Education has been cut. These hardworking folks ensure kids with disabilities get equal access to a quality education.

America’s children deserve better than this.

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Julia Carrie Wong @joolia.bsky.social · 1d

The promotion of pseudoscience about a supposed “cause” or “cure” of autism and the destruction of special education (and all of public education, really) are part of the same project. It is a fascist attempt to expel certain people from the body politic, based in eugenics.

Sara Partridge, Ph.D. @sarapartridge.bsky.social · 1d

There are reports that the *entire* office of special education at the US Dept of Education has been cut. These hardworking folks ensure kids with disabilities get equal access to a quality education.

America’s children deserve better than this.

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Preorder Read This When Things Fall Apart @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 1d

My publisher’s been very patient. I’m not doing everything I said I’d do to promote this book (out in a few weeks) because I’m an organizer in a city under federal attack. My days are full and emotionally exhausting. Any help getting the word out means a lot. It's a book people need right now.

Read This When Things Fall Apart by Kelly Hayes | Pilsen Community Books

A bundle of letters to activists and organizers on the frontlines in catastrophic times from Let This Radicalize You co-author Kelly Hayes In social movements, some heartbreaks are all but inevitable.

www.pilsencommunitybooks.com

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Sara Partridge, Ph.D. @sarapartridge.bsky.social · 1d

There are reports that the *entire* office of special education at the US Dept of Education has been cut. These hardworking folks ensure kids with disabilities get equal access to a quality education.

America’s children deserve better than this.

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morninggloryvt.bsky.social @morninggloryvt.bsky.social · 2d

CommunicationFIRST is a good resource for and by non-speakers (many of whom are autistic). The autistics in this organization are exactly the kind that are being dismissed and dehumanized by parents and RFK Jr., and they are doing such important work for their community.

bsky.app/profile/comm...

bsky.app

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lacey @byelacey.bsky.social · 2d

it's that time of year, it's time to get your flu and covid booster shot unless you're from massachusetts then it's time for your flu and covid borcester shot

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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 2d

www.wweek.com/culture/2025...

Can you put into words what that purpose is? You and the frog have really become icons of this protest.

There’s been a nice overall whimsy that has shown up. The frog is amazing. We had a bunch of other inflatable people here last night, too. I saw people playing Twister the other day.

What they rely on is fear. So by coming out in an absurdist manner, it speaks to them, to some extent, that we’re actually not that afraid.

It also dismantles their narrative a little bit. When they try to describe this situation as “war-torn,” it becomes much harder to take them seriously when they have to post a video saying [U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security] Kristi Noem is up on the balcony staring over the Antifa Army and it’s, like, eight journalists and five protesters and one of them is in a chicken suit.

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Kelly @broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 3d

Not everyone can boycott Amazon

Many disabled & elderly people are housebound and rely on it

Some medical supplies are more affordable there than anywhere else.

Instead of judging, help create networks of care.

Give rides, drop off food and meds, donate to mutual aid

Take care of each other

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morninggloryvt.bsky.social @morninggloryvt.bsky.social · 2d

And it goes without saying that RFK Jr's approach will do nothing to address any of this! Some parents blame the autism for the hard stuff rather than the ableism. They see it as an individual problem rather than a systemic injustice.

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