Disability advocacy organizations rebut claim that US ED will not be missed
What did some organizations claim in an editorial responding to the US Secretary of Education's assertion?
Writing in USA Today 24 November 2025, Jacqueline Rodriguez and Chad Rummel published a response to US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon’s assertions about the importance of the Education Department. On 16 November 2025 in the same publication, Secretary McMahon contended that the US’s experience during the government shutdown of fall 2025 showed “how little the Department of Education will be missed” if it is abolished.1
Ms. Rodriguez and Mr. Rummel, who represent US organizations that advocate for children and youths with disabilities and their families, mounted a reasoned and strong rebuttal to Secretary McMahon’s argument. Here are the first few paragraphs of their editorial:
When U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon claimed in USA TODAY that the recent government shutdown showed “how little the Department of Education will be missed,” she overlooked the damage done to the nation’s students, especially those with disabilities, who learn and think differently.
For students with disabilities, the impacts of the shutdown were real and immediate:
Civil rights investigations were paused or delayed.
Grant reviews and awards stalled.
Technical assistance to states – including 18 states with new special education directors – halted at a critical moment.
These are not disposable bureaucratic tasks, as McMahon claimed. They are federal responsibilities that ensure students receive what the law promises.
Ms. Rodriguez and Mr. Rummel continued by
Noting telling admissions by Ms. McMahon of her ignorance of aspects of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the US federal law protecting the rights of students with disabilities to free and appropriate education;
Describing historical examples that illustrate the need for government oversight at the federal level;
Explaining the political consequences of changes, some of which are potential and some of which are already manifesting; and
Documenting the potential costs to individuals with disabilities and their families.
Read their editorial to learn the full breadth and depth of their argument. It is available at USA Today under the headline, “McMahon’s education plan breaks the law and denies students’ rights: McMahon’s argument that no one would miss the Department of Education depends on several assumptions. These assumptions do not align with the lived reality of American families.”
Ms. Rodrigues is executive director for the National Center for Learning Disabilities and Mr. Rummel is executive director the Council for Exceptional Children. Both organizations are not-for-profit groups advocating for children and youths with disabilities and their families.
Ms. Rodriguez, who is a regular reader of Special Education Today, told me that the opinion piece she and Mr. Rummel published was informed by working with colleagues in other organizations, as well. She explained that “NCLD and CEC are on the byline, however Council of Parent Attorney and Advocates, National Down Syndrome Congress, The ARC, Autism Society, Center for Learner Equity, National Disability Rights Network, and the American Association of People with Disabilities all contributed to the editorial, which represents the unified resolve of disability organizations nationwide.” It is heartening to see that these organizations are collaborating. We are in this together.
Footnote
Special Education Today covered Ms. McMahon’s article under the headline “L. McMahon: Shutdown shows US ED won’t be missed….”