Hundreds of Education Organizations Sign Letter
The National Rural Education Association, of which MREA is a member, joined 200+ national education associations in the signing of a letter, condemning the firing of U.S. Department of Education, which reportedly occurred Friday, Oct. 10, and requesting to reverse the layoffs.
The letter concludes:
The undersigned organizations urge the Administration – and call on Congress to do the same – to reverse course immediately and restore staffing and transparency at the U.S. Department of Education. Strong federal leadership is not optional—it’s a moral and legal obligation for our nation’s children with disabilities.
MREA advocates for 30 rural cooperatives, many of which provide SPED services and support for their member districts.
- No official confirmation of specifics of mass layoffs at Department of Education – The Administration has not provided information of the exact scope of Friday’s mass layoffs at the Department of Education (ED) or made clear how ED will meet statutory requirements with just a handful of people to run almost $44 billion of elementary and secondary education programs and other affected programs. Reports are that there are only about 15 people left in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, and reportedly only two staffers remain in the Office of Special Education Programs. Below is some background information about the funding in various categories.
- Table showing funding by category (attached) –This chart (it’s also on page 18 of CEF’s fiscal year FY26 education budget book) shows Education Department funding by appropriations budget account. The Office of Elementary and Secondary Education oversees K-12 funding except for English Language Acquisition, meaning its staffers manage programs with close to $44 billion in federal support for teaching and learning.
- ED’s organization chart shows its offices and various of their programs. Office of Special Education Programs is on page 8, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education is on page 16, and Office of English Learners is on page 18.
- Response to mass layoffs from CEF members – Responses from several CEF members are linked below. If other organizations have responses (letters, statements, etc.) that you want shared, please forward links to fred@mreavoice.org. Even though we don’t yet know exactly how the mass layoffs will affect each program because we don’t have total information, it’s vital to be public about how the Administration’s firing of another approximately 460 ED employees weakens education services to every state and congressional district.
- Multiple CEF members signed on to a letter condemning firing of ED staff
- National Association of Federally Impacted Schools – NAFIS issues a statement and has an Action Center opposing the cuts to Impact Aid staff
- Council of Administrators of Special Education – statement noting that all but two (!) staffers have been fired in the Office of Special Education Programs
- Learning Disabilities Association of America –statement about the impact on students and schools of the firing of Office of Special Education Programs staff
- Senior Republican appropriators blame OMB on funding impasse – Several Republicans on the House and Senate Appropriations Committee have commented that they understand why Democrats aren’t working with them to enact legislation or pass the House-passed Republican continuing resolution, acknowledging that the White House will rescind funding it doesn’t support after Congress passes it. It takes 60 votes in the Senate to pass appropriations bills, meaning Congress must have bipartisan support, but only 51 votes to approve a rescission under the Impoundment Control Act, and zero members if the Administration unilaterally cancels or transfers funding without first getting congressional approval – an action that violates budget law. Several are blaming Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought by name; Senate Appropriations Committee chair Susan Collins (R-ME) blamed Vought for the mass layoffs.
Information via CEF Oct. 15, 2025 at 6:09 pm.