Will DOGE Come for the Disability Community?

Parents are terrified that school and state programs for disabled people will be cut

Photo by Andrey Metelev on Unsplash

Last night, a local mom called and asked for school advice. Usually, I nudge parents to set up daytime appointments and become formal clients for my autism business; I need to put some boundaries on my time. But I helped this mom for free because she’s a sweetie and she promised to make me dinner.

During our one-hour conversation about IEP legalities and other matters, she mentioned three times that she thought DOGE was going to hurt kids like ours. She echoed the worries of all my clients and friends. Always in a vulnerable position and marginalized in their communities, parents with disabled children are stressed out. Big time.

Honestly, I’m fielding questions about DOGE and disability issues all day long. Will there still be college programs for kids with autism next year? What will happen to that funding for state disability services? Will these cuts embolden others to independently cut school programs for disabled kids? Even if DOGE doesn’t cut programs, will they create a hostile environment for our kids?

I can’t answer those questions or assure parents that they’ll be okay because we live in weird times. Democracy isn’t operating normally, and the big dude in the White House is renaming the Gulf of Mexico. While I think most people think that a streamlined government is a good thing, the speed and the Hulk-ish methods of DOGE are resulting in great uncertainty and fear on the ground. Families don’t trust this government to protect vulnerable kids, because compassion isn’t efficient.

What Happens to Special Ed Kids If There’s No Department of Education?

Normally, parents of disabled kids are too overwhelmed to be plugged into national politics. National politics never comes up on Facebook group chats or client conversations. If they have the bandwidth, they might get involved with local issues, where they can see the direct connection to their children’s education.

But these aren’t normal times.

One of their worries is centered around the Department of Education, which has been on Trump’s bulls-eye since the campaign. One of the main jobs of the Department of Education is writing checks to local schools to help supplement the costs of special education.

Some of what Trump says is nonsense for the MAGA base. For example, he said that he would end DOE’s control over American schools and give that power back to the states. He must know that the states already have that power, with only 10 percent of all school funding coming from the federal government. So, that “giving it back to the states” stuff is just red meat for MAGA.

Trump could close the department (if he circumvents basic democratic procedures) and pass along the check-writing power of the DOE to Health and Human Services. Presumably, HHS would hire new people to write those checks, so I can’t see how closing the DOE will lead to any savings. This proposal might happen, because Trump has to feed the MAGA beast, but it’s not going to save any bucks.

Now, parents don’t care about who writes the checks, they just want the funding to continue. They believe that Trump’s next step will be to cut funding. Even if he doesn’t do it, they think that his win has emboldened far-right-wingers who want to cut services to disabled people. There is much discussion online about a new Texas law case and a (defeated) bill in the Oklahoma legislature, both of which are attempts to reduce services to kids with disabilities.

Parents aren’t the only ones who are nervous. The feds are already not doing their share to cover special education expenses. Only 13 percent of total funding for special ed comes from the federal government, rather than the promised 40 percent. Still, those dollars are precious to local schools.

Local school budgets have zero cushion in their budget. Most funding goes towards salaries and benefits. If local school boards saw any reductions in federal funding, bad things would happen — schools would go bankrupt, high-needs kids wouldn’t be adequately supervised, and teachers would be let go.

And More

Adult services are funded at the federal level by Social Security and Medicaid. Those agencies cover the costs for group homes for folks with Down syndrome and autism, for home care workers, daycare programs, and supportive work settings.

A little change in these departments is probably warranted. The system is convoluted, for sure. Third parties dip their fingers into the honey pot. For a long time, it was impossible to talk to a real person at those agencies, because they all worked from home. For me, the biggest problem is that the system is too difficult to access, so only the most determined people can access services.

Musk is going to hack those departments apart. They will be mincemeat. Maybe it will be good for the recipients, but who knows?

I help parents fill out the paperwork to get these services. Getting money for people is a surprising and lucrative talent that I’ve discovered late in life. I worked with five families this week, and all of them worried that there would be no money left when they finished the paperwork.

Kindness Isn’t Efficient

Now, Trump hasn’t said a word about cutting funding for special education or disabled adults. There isn’t any buzz about it among other MAGA types in DC. So, why worry?

When efficiency is elevated above other values, vulnerable people lose out. That’s what makes people nervous. After all, there is nothing about disabled people that is efficient.

What if a 24-year-old DOGE worker starts asking questions about the best use of resources? He might say, given the fact that we have finite education resources, doesn’t it make sense to pile those limited resources all on the highest achievers? Why should taxpayers take care of other people’s disabled children? Wouldn’t it be more efficient to pile up all the inconvenient people in one place?

The disabled community sees themselves as DEI-adjacent. While the disabled community didn’t directly benefit enough from DEI, there was always the possibility that DEI could be used to generate more neurodiverse workplaces. DEI did help create new programs for autistic kids in colleges.

DEI also lowered the stigma around neurodiversity. Half of my friends now identify as autistic or ADHD. I’ll have to write about that another time.

The vocal attacks on DEI make the disabled community worried about being next on the chopping block. First, they came for the trans kids and DEI, and then they came for me.

All We Have Is Silence and Fear

While there may not be a concrete reason to fear cuts in education and disability — no public statements or even whispers — folks are still worried. And that should be addressed. Sure, legislators and DC folks aren’t calling for eliminating vital programs, but they are also not assuring families. Silence can be threatening.

As someone who has publically discussed his autism, Musk should assure Americans that certain groups are safe. I would love for Democrats to say that they will fight to the end for kids like mine. Instead, there is silence and fear.

---

Other News

Had a great chat last week with Andy Rotherham, writer of Eduwonk and co-founder and senior partner at Bellwether.

I posted pictures on X of a new education group’s posters at the train station that pointed out that students in New Jersey can’t read or do math. That post got 190K views.

I’m simultaneously managing the rapid growth of a private business and helping set up a new venture, so I’m a little off my writing/pundit game right now. I’ll be back on track in a couple of days, I think.