Take action! Tell Congress to protect the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Housing and Healthcare Programs
On Friday, October 10th, the administration laid off more than 4,000 federal workers in the U.S. Department of Education (ED), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Health and Human Services (HHS), and four other agencies, including most of the staff at ED that provide support for disabled children and adults.
Layoffs at ED include nearly all staff in the Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS). OSERS oversees both the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), which supports disabled children from birth to age 21, and the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), which assists states and other agencies to provide services to disabled teens and adults to increase their employment, independence, and integration.
Layoffs at HUD include staff in the Office of Public and Indian Housing and the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) —the division responsible for investigating discrimination and enforcing the Fair Housing Act. The entire fair housing staff at HUD's San Francisco regional office (which covers California, Nevada, and Arizona) reportedly received layoff notices. These cuts will directly impact Fair Housing Act enforcement. Notably, complaints alleging discrimination based on disability account for 52.61% of all fair housing complaints, underscoring that this is deeply a disability rights issue. The Office of Public and Indian Housing inspects rental housing to ensure it is decent, safe and sanitary for residents, including disabled people.
Layoffs at HHS include staff at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)—which supports programs addressing mental illness and addiction—as well as personnel focused on disease outbreak response (CDC) and disaster preparedness (Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response). The cuts at SAMHSA are particularly alarming, as they may undermine state safety nets for people with mental health and substance use conditions. SAMHSA also oversees the 988 suicide prevention hotline, which could be affected by these reductions.
Federal agency staff and programs at ED, HUD and HHS provide funds to states, schools and local agencies. They provide guidance and oversight to ensure states and local agencies and orgs are following laws important to the disability community like the the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Act, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and the Fair Housing Act. They collect data and national reports to compare and measure progress. These cuts will significantly harm disabled people, especially those facing additional barriers, and interfere with our rights to a free and appropriate education; affordable, accessible housing free from discrimination; and access to mental health services and public health programs that keep us all safe and living in our communities.
“These reductions are not a surprise — they were clearly outlined in Project 2025,” said Michelle Uzeta, Interim Executive Director of DREDF. “This Administration is moving hastily to advance its agenda of dismantling the federal workforce, targeting the people and agencies that provide essential services to disabled and multiply marginalized communities. It's disgraceful.”
