1. United States
2. Iowa
3. Letter

The Trump administration's cuts to staffing at the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights seriously undermine the ability of families to advocate for their children with disabilities and protect their civil rights. This hollowing out of investigative resources leaves thousands of pending discrimination complaints unaddressed and obstructs new cases from being properly investigated. It will force families to seek more expensive legal remedies or rely on overburdened state agencies ill-equipped to handle education disability cases. Slashing the staff that upholds civil rights protections for our most vulnerable students is an unacceptable dereliction of the federal government's responsibilities. These cuts must be reversed to safeguard the rights of children with disabilities to receive the educational support and accommodations they are legally entitled to. Failure to do so will only compound the challenges parents already face in securing appropriate services for their children's needs.