[NFBNJ] Fwd: Call to Action: Tell Congress to Oppose Destroying the Department of Education! 👎

Tue Mar 25 21:11:43 UTC 2025

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Disability Rights New Jersey <advocate at disabilityrightsnj.org>
Date: Tue, Mar 25, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Subject: Call to Action: Tell Congress to Oppose Destroying the Department
of Education! 👎
To: <lindamelendez220 at gmail.com>

Plus, Facts on the Role of the Dept. of Education
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March 25, 2025 | Issue 74
Save The Department of Education

Tell Congress: Oppose Destroying the

Department of Education

The White House recently issued an executive order to dismantle the U.S.
Department of Education. This action threatens to upend the educational
rights and protections of millions of students nationwide, specifically
those with disabilities.

The Department of Education plays a critical role ensuring that schools
meet their legal obligations to provide public education for students with
disabilities. With its elimination, families will be forced to navigate a
patchwork of state policies, many of which lack the funding and
infrastructure to effectively support students with disabilities.

Further, the Department of Education enforces the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
Without robust enforcement of these critical laws, students with
disabilities will experience more discrimination, inadequate accommodations
and services, and a rollback of their hard-fought rights.

We need you to tell Congress to do their duty and save the Department of
Education for students with disabilities who need their rights
protected! Please take action to save the Department of Education now.
Take Action Now
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Why the Department of Education is Important for Students with Disabilities

   - IDEA funding to states and school districts is provided from a
   Congressional appropriation. These funds must continue regardless of the
   dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education.

   - Department of Education provides essential funding to state education
   agencies and local school districts through its grant making and
   contracting activities. These activities and funds may be delayed, reduced
   or terminated due to the dismantling of Department of Education and would
   significantly deplete the ability of states and school districts to support
   teachers, educators, staff, and students.

   - Department of Education provides essential funding for educational
   research activities that support students with disabilities and students
   without disabilities. These activities and funds may be delayed or
   terminated due to the dismantling of Department of Education and would
   significantly decrease the ability of states and school districts to
   support teachers, educators, staff, and students.

   - Department of Education conducts compliance reviews of state education
   agencies. It is unclear how this function would be performed due to the
   dismantling of Department of Education and would result in the loss of
   necessary oversight and accountability.

   - Department of Education, through its Office for Civil Rights (OCR),
   investigates allegations of disability discrimination in public schools.
   OCR may be moved to a different agency and its staffing and priorities may
   be changed due to the dismantling of Department of Education and would
   result in the loss of necessary oversight and accountability.

   - Department of Education announces policy interpretations on IDEA,
   Section 504, and other federal laws. These policy interpretations do not
   have the force or effect of law but serve to indicate the agency’s approach
   to understanding and implementing those laws. Recent policy interpretations
   stand to reduce and not protect disability rights.

   - Congress has proposed legislation to move IDEA oversight to the
   Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which promotes the medical
   model of disability, thus, opening the door to stigmatizing, segregating,
   and “othering” children with disabilities instead of supporting and
   recognizing the natural experience of having a disability.

HOW WE HELP
[image: Logo Square for Social.png]

Disability Rights New Jersey, a nonprofit organization, is dedicated to
advancing and protecting the human, civil, and legal rights of people with
disabilities.

   - We aggressively investigate reports of abuse and neglect wherever a
   person with a disability may be receiving services.

   - We thoroughly monitor facilities and community-based programs to
   ensure that people living in those facilities and using those services are
   free from abuse and neglect, and that their rights are not violated.

   - We provide legal representation, without charge, to people with
   disabilities in cases that fall within our areas of assistance.

   - We are dedicated to providing education, training, and technical
   assistance to people with disabilities, their families and advocates, the
   agencies that service them, and policy makers among others.

   - We provide state-of-the-art access to information and advice about
   assistive technology.

Read Our Story
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Disability Rights NJ is funded by the Department of Health and Human
Services: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services - Center for Mental
Health Services; Administration for Community Living - Administration on
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities; Center for Integrated
Programs, through the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce
Development, U.S. Department of Education: Rehabilitation Services
Administration, and the Social Security Administration

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