When Schools Punish Disability: South Range and the Danger of DEI Rollbacks

I am writing to you today out of heartbreak and outrage. In the South Range Local School District in Ohio, multiple students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) have been denied continued open enrollment—some after spending their entire academic lives in that community. These children, who need support—not rejection—are being told they’re not allowed to return simply because of who they are and what services they require. Parents were even offered the “option” to opt out of IEPs if they wanted their kids to stay. Imagine being told your child must give up their rights just to remain in the school they love. What makes this even more egregious is that only 11.85% of students in the South Range district have IEPs—well below the national average of 15.95%. This is not about being overwhelmed. This is about exclusion, plain and simple. And it’s not just a local failure. It’s a chilling preview of the kind of America that Project 2025 promotes—a country where students with special needs are sidelined, DEI protections are eliminated, and the Department of Education is dismantled in the name of “efficiency” and “state control.” Project 2025 calls for stripping away federal oversight and leaving vulnerable students at the mercy of local decision-makers—many of whom, like South Range’s board, are already showing us what they’ll do with that power. That’s why we need the Department of Education now more than ever. That’s why DEI policies must be protected and expanded, not erased. I urge you to: 1. Publicly oppose Project 2025 and any effort to dismantle the Department of Education. 2. Investigate the South Range Local School District’s exclusion of IEP students and ensure federal disability laws are being upheld. 3. Strengthen DEI initiatives, especially those that protect and support students with disabilities. Shame on any policymaker who turns a blind eye to this. These are American children. Their rights should not be optional.