Last week the US Supreme Court, without any explanation, authorized the Trump Administration, to move forward with massive cuts to the Department of Education, laying off 1,400 employees. According to the White House, the lay offs are a first step in a plan to return education authority to the states. The Department of Ed layoffs will have serious negative effects upon students with disabilities. The director of the National Center for Learning Disabilities stated that "this unprecedented move will severely hamper the department’s ability to do its essential functions like safeguarding the civil rights of students with disabilities." The Department of Ed cuts have already impacted civil rights investigations. The Department’s Office for Civil Rights handles disability discrimination complaints in schools. Seven of twelve of the civil rights offices have already been closed. According to another expert, "school districts will be further emboldened to violate the rights of students with disabilities… knowing that the Department of Education has no staff to hold them accountable." There may be even greater and more disturbing changes ahead. President Trump has frequently stated that he wants to shut down the Department of Education entirely and move special education oversight to the Department of Health and Human Services. If that were to happen HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the autism conspiracy and anti-vaccine guy himself, would be in charge of special education. Not exactly something that will enable members of the disabled community to sleep well at night! The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the cornerstone legislation that has yielded all of the advances that disabled individuals have made for the last several decades. There are 7.5 million students covered by the IDEA. The potential shift of IDEA administration to HHS has disability and special ed advocates up in arms. More than a dozen former Department of Education officials who worked with the IDEA under both Republican and Democratic administrations wrote to Congress urging legislators to maintain IDEA administration in the Department of Ed. The potential move of IDEA administration to HHS is likely illegal, but when has that stopped the Trump Administration? Further developments at the Department of Education and with IDEA need to be closely monitored by all stakeholders in the disabled community.

Update on Trump's Big Beautiful Bill

On May 22, 2025, the House of Representatives passed President Trump’s bill that cut’s taxes for wealthy people at the expense of the most vulnerable groups, particularly the disabled and poor people. The bill does not specifically say that legislators are cutting Medicaid funding. The House was indirect and much more devious, and it enacted work requirements and other onerous paperwork qualification obstacles for Medicaid recipients. Talk of attacking waste and fraud is an attempt to disguise what is really happening. Federal funding to the States is going to be reduced as well by changing funding formulas. WORK REQUIREMENTS AND MORE PAPERWORK ARE SIMPLY MEDICAID CUTS IN DISGUISE. Reputable analysts of the bill estimate that Medicaid will be cut by well over $700 Billion. SNAP which is the food lifeline for the poor and vulnerable, will be cut by $300 Billion. It has also been estimated that over 10 Million and as many and 14 Million people will lose health insurance as a result of this bill. The policies in the bill enacted by the House will put the entire disabled community at risk, all to ensure that already wealthy people get to keep even more of their money. State programs and services for the disabled will be severely stressed. More people will go hungry. The bill now moves to the Senate. Some of the Senators already recognize how unpopular these Medicaid cuts will be. If the recent past is any indication, however, Senators may cave to pressure from the administration and vote for the bill anyway. The majority in the Senate likes those tax cuts for the rich, and Senators fear the wrath of the President and want to keep their jobs at all costs. So, they may not act in the best interests of all of their constituents. The Disabled will be left behind. ACT NOW. GET INVOLVED. WRITE TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVES. PROTECT THE DISABLED.

Autism Spending Reduced Under Trump and RFK, Jr.

Between January and April of 2025, research spending on autism at the National Institutes of Health was about $31 Million less than the comparable period last year according to a Reuters review of the federal data. That is a 26% drop in spending compared to the previous four-year average. HHS Secretary Kennedy talks about wanting to find a cure for autism, but his priorities to do so are twisted. Secretary Kennedy has announced a $50 Million investment into the causes of autism. However much of that money will be spent for yet another study to find a connection between autism and vaccines. Every major past study, and there were several, has found no such connection. Secretary Kennedy is also turning away from the study of genetics as a cause of autism in favor of looking at environmental toxins as a potential cause. However well intentioned he might be, Secretary Kennedy is moving autism research away from scientific best practices and more toward his preconceived notions of why autism is so prevalent in our society today. As a mother of an autistic child I was desperate and for years I tried every so-called treatment and potential magic bullet to try and improve my child’s functioning and life. I learned the hard way that there is no miracle cure out there just waiting to be discovered. The federal government should continue to fund real scientific autism research to advance our knowledge.

A. MEDICAID

In order to pay for President Trumps "big beautiful bill" that will in large part cut taxes for the wealthy even more than the tax cuts from his first term, legislators in the House and Senate must find large spending cuts. President Trump has "pledged" not to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and many representatives and senators have said the same. BUT Despite these promises, the simple reality of the federal budget puts certain entitlement programs in the crosshairs of legislators. Cuts to defense are a non-starter and cuts to Social Security and Medicare would undoubtedly be political poison for legislators. But Medicaid, which provides vital health care and essential services to disabled individuals and other financially disadvantaged populations, is very vulnerable and may be severely cut. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has been instructed to find $880 Billion in savings and Medicaid programs are the primary target for cuts. There is talk that the final number may be less, and much discussion about the elimination of only fraud and waste. Stakeholders should not be fooled. Clearly, essential programs and services for the developmentally disabled community are at risk, particularly home and community-based services. The Energy and Commerce Committee will begin its markup of its portion of the bill in coming days. Make your voice heard and protect the vital services of disabled individuals. Call and write your representatives in Congress now.

B. WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE

Last week, the White House unveiled its budget summary, called a "skinny budget" which asks Congress to slash funding for non-defense discretionary spending by 22.6% in the next fiscal year. This type of spending does not involve Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. But this spending does fund programs critical to the developmentally disabled community. From information released by the Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS"), it is clear that the spending cuts the Trump administration is requesting would eliminate funding for, among other things, protection and advocacy agencies (P & A's) for the disabled, state councils on developmental disabilities, the lifespan respite program and other key programs for the disabled. All of the programs included with the Administration for Community Living are at risk because HHS has disclosed that it wants to shutter this agency entirely. According to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, when speaking about his overall restructuring that eliminates departments and agencies while purporting to preserve core functions, "We’re going to do more with less." It is hard to see how cutting funding, eliminating programs and closing essential agencies will result in 'more' for the community of disabled individuals. The words being said and the explanations offered don’t add up to the severe actions being taken and the money being withdrawn. SPEAK UP ADVOCATE FOR YOUR LOVED ONES

C. NEW YORK STATE ED UPDATE

Within the past two weeks, Marna participated in a New York State Education Department virtual briefing regarding funding of programs for the developmentally disabled. According to the State Ed representatives, as of the end of April there has been no change in federal funding to New York State for Medicaid and other essential programs. State Ed advised that they are carefully monitoring the situation, as is Marna.