WA STATE FACT SHEET on how Department of Education supports WA students and schools
ICYMI: Murray, Top Appropriators Demand Detailed Answers on Trump Admin’s Sweeping Mass Firings at Department of Education
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Shoreline, WA — Today, as reporting indicates President Trump will sign an Executive Order aimed at eliminating the Department of Education tomorrow, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, held a roundtable discussion with Seattle School Board President Gina Topp and parents and educators laying out how President Trump’s moves to dismantle the Department of Education are a serious threat to students, educators, and public schools throughout Washington state.
Last week, the Department of Education announced that it was firing more than 1,300 workers as part of Trump and Elon Musk’s indiscriminate mass layoffs across the federal workforce. This and other administration actions to date will cut the Department’s workforce in half and effectively gut the agency. While outright abolishing the Department would require an act of Congress, President Trump has said repeatedly that he intends to do everything possible to achieve that goal and is expected to issue an executive order tomorrow that seeks to eliminate the Department and move its functions to other agencies. On Monday, Senator Murray led a letter demanding detailed answers from the Department about the mass firings it has conducted and how it is carrying out requirements of federal law and its critical responsibilities despite the sweeping reductions in force.
“Trump and Musk are taking a wrecking ball to the U.S. Department of Education and firing half its staff—we’re talking about the people who make sure federal funds get to our kids and schools, help students fill out the FAFSA and get Pell Grants and financial aid, protect students from predatory for-profit colleges, enforce our civil rights laws, and so much more. What’s the end goal here? Destroying public education in America—and robbing our students and families of critical funding while Trump and Musk enrich themselves,” said Senator Murray. “The effects of Trump and Musk’s slash and burn campaign will be felt across our state—by students and families who suffer from the loss of Department staff working to ensure their rights under federal law, school districts who have to lay off teachers, students who can’t get the help they need to get financial aid, and families who get ripped off because the watchdogs were fired. This issue is personal for me, and for every single family. We cannot relent in this fight—and we should never underestimate the power of our own voices.”
The Department of Education provides critical funding and support to students, teachers, and schools in Washington state, including providing $301 million annually in IDEA funding for 152,000 students with disabilities—15 percent of Washington’s student population—and $307 million annually in Title I funding for schools enrolling 511,000 from low-income backgrounds—reflecting 46 percent of Washington’s student population, among so much else. Another central responsibility of the Department is to identify, investigate, and resolve school violations of civil rights laws. A record number of civil rights complaints (22,687) were filed in Fiscal Year 2024; 35 percent of cases were based on disability discrimination. Trump’s plans for the Department of Education are extremely unpopular; 58 percent of voters across the political spectrum oppose eliminating the Department.
“Seattle Public Schools, like districts across the country, depends on federal funding to ensure every student has access to a high-quality education. These funds aren’t extras—they provide essential support for students from low-income families, English learners, and students with disabilities, breaking down barriers that stand in the way of opportunity. Cutting these programs doesn’t just hurt students today—it weakens our entire community and our future. Any cuts to these programs would undercut our collective future,” said Gina Topp, Seattle Public Schools Board President.
“ED enforces civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in the educational environment. These three main laws are Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination; Title VI, which prohibits racial discrimination; and Section 504, which prohibits disability discrimination. These laws help students in Washington State and across the county every single day…I help represent the Office for Civil Rights when offices are sued for how they’ve handled a discrimination complaint or when the office is sued over a new regulation or piece of guidance that OCR has published. I work with incredible, dedicated, hard-working public servants. Many of them have spent decades, or for some their entire careers, working for ED. The level of experience and knowledge that they bring to their work is simply irreplaceable,” said Rebecca Yates, an attorney for the Department of Education, Office of General Counsel, participating in the discussion in her personal capacity. “Last Tuesday night, like hundreds of ED employees across the country, I received an email informing me that my entire division was being abolished, and my position was being eliminated. I’m upset about losing my job, but I’m devastated about what’s happening to the Department of Education, and deeply concerned about the future of the Department—and the future of public education in this country.”
“Because my children received appropriate early intervention, IEP services, and accommodations, my oldest son was able to graduate from college and secure his first job. That success would not have been possible without federally funded programs that helped level the playing field for students like him. I once believed I could provide all the necessary support on my own—I even earned a PhD in my effort to do so—but I quickly learned that specialized services, trained professionals, and a strong federal commitment to disability education are essential,” said Lanya McKittrick, PhD, a special education researcher and family support professional, and the parent of four kids with special needs. “As a family support professional working with parents of children with low-incidence disabilities, I see the impact of these programs every day. Families are already struggling with devastating budget cuts that have stripped away services. If we allow this to continue, we risk undoing over 30 years of progress in disability rights and education.”
“I am deeply concerned about the administration’s recent staffing cuts and plans to dismantle the Education Department,” said Heather Schwindt, an advocate for kids with special needs and parent of two kids with disabilities, one of whom relies on an Individualized Education Program (IEP) plan to succeed in school. “This decision will set back public education and harm students with disabilities. A primary concern is the potential loss of funding for essential services and programs supporting students with disabilities. These services, mandated by federal laws such as the IDEA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, are crucial for ensuring that students with disabilities receive a free and appropriate public education. Reduced staffing, larger special education caseloads, and reduced capacity for delivering specialized services will result in a reduction of federal funding for Special Education… 60 years ago, children with disabilities were often denied the right to attend school. We’ve made progress with Section 504, IDEA, and the Department of Education and there is more progress to be made. The Department of Education is vital with the investments it makes in providing research to practice models, providing data on student outcomes nationally, and helping our state and others continue to push to do better for all children.”
A senior member and former chair of the HELP Committee, Senator Murray has championed students and families at every stage of her career—fighting to help ensure every child in America can get a high-quality public education. Among other things, Senator Murray negotiated the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), landmark legislation that she got signed into law, replacing the broken No Child Left Behind Act. As a longtime appropriator, she has successfully fought to boost funding to support students and invest in our nation’s K-12 schools, and she has secured significant increases to the Pell Grant so that it goes further for students pursuing a higher education. Senator Murray also successfully negotiated the FAFSA Simplification Act, bipartisan legislation to reform the financial aid application process, simplify the FAFSA form for students and parents, and significantly expand eligibility for federal aid.
On Monday, Senator Murray led a letter demanding detailed answers from the Department of Education about the mass firings and other detrimental actions which risk major reductions in support for and oversight of federal investments in our nation’s K-12 schools and institutions of higher education and threaten vital support for students with disabilities, access to Pell Grants and other financial aid, oversight of student loan servicers, scrutiny of for-profit colleges, and more. The letter follows an earlier March 6 letter Senator Murray sent alongside colleagues demanding answers about the chaotic, harmful actions taken by ED since January—which the Department has yet to respond to. During Secretary Linda McMahon’s confirmation hearing, Senator Murray pressed McMahon on whether she will ensure approved funding gets out to serve students as the law requires and whether she would protect students’ data from DOGE. She also asked McMahon to name a single requirement of ESSA—and McMahon couldn’t name any. Ahead of McMahon’s confirmation, Senator Murray spoke out on the Senate floor against her nomination and sounded the alarm over President Trump and Elon Musk’s plans to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.
A fact sheet outlining how the Department of Education supports students in Washington state is HERE.
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