Trump administration’s layoffs would gut department overseeing special education, eliminating parents’ last resort
- Written by Joshua Cowen, Professor of Education Policy, Michigan State University
A sign marks the outside of the Department of Education headquarters in Washington, D.C.J. David Ake/Getty ImagesA federal judge on Oct. 16, 2025, paused the Trump administration’s latest round of layoffs, which targeted more than 4,000 federal workers at a range of agencies, including 466 workers at the Department of Education.
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