Top Democratic Appropriators Press McMahon to Follow Law

On March 17th, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee and the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor-H) Subcommittee, and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ranking Member of the Senate Labor-H Subcommittee submitted a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, demanding an answer to a list of questions. Of major concern is whether the U.S. Department of Education can maintain its legal requirements with a nearly fifty percent workforce reduction. “Firing the people that ensure states, school districts, and institutions of higher education live up to their legal obligations is neither efficient nor accountable.” The senators specifically expressed their concern that the Department’s actions will harm students with disabilities and that effective oversight to ensure implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is now in doubt. Reductions in the Office for Civil Rights, the division that enforces civil rights laws, jeopardizes the pursuit of disability discrimination complaints. Given the current state, the senators have sent a pointed list of questions to which they expect a prompt response.

Read the 10-page letter here.