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Support Children with Disabilities: Preserve the Department of Education
The Administration announced its intention to move special education programs from the U.S. Department of Education to the Health and Human Services Department, segregating it from other education programs and putting 50 years of special education in jeopardy. This move would de-emphasize the purpose of IDEA to provide a free and appropriate public education and other critical activities to infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities, and challenge the federal role to provide evidence-based research, personnel preparation, and technical assistance to advance the field of special education. It is more than a bureaucratic change; it signals a move toward a medical model that views students as patients rather than as learners with strengths, potential, and belonging. For five decades, special educators have worked to ensure that students with disabilities are recognized as general education students first. Keeping special education unified with all other education programs under ED protects that progress, strengthens inclusion, and upholds a unified K–12 system where every child is part of the school community.
(Updated June 16, 2026)
- Fact Sheet: Federal vs. State Role in Special Education (Council for Exceptional Children)
- Executive Order: Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities (The White House)
- Interview: Watch CEC's Executive Director discuss the impacts of the layoffs at ED on special education programs on CNN
- Resource: Position on the federal role in IDEA
- Article: Op-Ed by Chad Rummel and Jacqueline Rodriguez on USAtoday.com
Your Voice is Critical
The Council for Exceptional Children works with policymakers on Capitol Hill, in the administration, and throughout the federal government to shape legislation that advances the lives of individuals with disabilities and to promote the policy agenda of CEC.
Our advocacy only works if you, our advocates, join with us in lending your voice. See our current advocacy topics below and engage in advocating with us.
Your gift to CEC’s Advocacy Fund strengthens our voice on Capitol Hill and ensures that children and youth with disabilities continue to receive the services and supports they need to learn and thrive.
Current Advocacy Topics
Support Education Funding through Annual Appropriations
An adequate federal investment in education is essential to supporting infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities and/or gifts and talents, ensuring their success in school and beyond. However, persistent underfunding of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) programs threatens essential programs that maintain a strong special educator workforce and ensure successful outcomes for the population they serve. On April 3, 2026, the Administration proposed further straining IDEA's capacity by eliminating funding for the IDEA preschool grant program, personnel preparation and development, resources for families, technical assistance centers, and more. In the past, at the urging of the special education community, Congress has preserved these programs through the annual spending process. As the number of eligible children served under IDEA continues to rise while the field faces persistent personnel shortages, sustained Congressional support for these programs is more urgent than ever.
- Fact Sheet: IDEA and Federal Funding (Council for Exceptional Children)
- Fact Sheet: Appropriations (July 2025 Special Education Legislative Summit)
Support Critical Education Research
Education research supported by the Institute for Education Sciences (IES) in the U.S. Department of Education improves the way educators deliver instruction to all students. CEC members rely on IES research broadly, and the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) specifically for innovative techniques to effectively serve children with disabilities. This spring, the Administration canceled scores of research grants and proposed to scale back IES significantly, posing a major setback for educators and students that could lead to a substantial loss of knowledge about best practices for ensuring high expectations and improved outcomes. Congress is now working to finalize funding levels for the upcoming fiscal year, including whether to maintain a strong research arm at IES and NCSER.
- Blog: Administration Cancels Nearly $1B in Education Research Contracts (CEC's Policy Insider)
- Fact Sheet: Impact of Federal Funding for Special Education Research (CEC's Division for Research)
Held in Washington, D.C, the Special Education Legislative Summit (SELS) is an opportunity for educators from across the country to make a difference by advocating for change with Members of Congress.