The Darker Side of the Spectrum – Volume XII
Another front in the dismantling project has just come into view.
According to Disability Scoop, the U.S. Department of Education is preparing to cancel hundreds of special education grants under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part D. These grants fund parent training centers, technical assistance hubs, and personnel preparation for special educators—the very infrastructure that ensures families know their rights and schools can serve disabled students.
And why are they being targeted?
Advocates believe the grants were flagged by an AI scan looking for “DEI” terms—a digital witch hunt designed to wipe out anything connected to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
This is not a budget trimming exercise. It is a calculated dismantling of supports that Congress itself has already funded. Many of these programs are mid-cycle, with renewal dates coming up in weeks. Project officers have already told some grantees to prepare to close.
More than 150 federally funded parent centers and advocacy groups have sent a desperate letter to Congress urging intervention. COPAA’s CEO Denise Marshall said it plainly:
“Saving money off the backs of our children and the school personnel who worked hard to educate them is appalling.”
Meanwhile, Trump is pushing a parallel plan to collapse IDEA into state block grants—stripping federal oversight and accountability. Congress already rejected that idea on a bipartisan basis last month. Yet the Department is moving forward anyway, behind closed doors.
What does this mean in practice?
It means families of children with disabilities—already forced to fight for every ounce of support—may lose the very resource centers that teach them how to navigate the system. It means schools will have fewer trained special educators. It means IDEA’s promise of partnership with parents, codified in law, could collapse into empty language.
This is what dismantling looks like: not with a single stroke of legislation, but through targeted cuts, AI-driven purges, and administrative sabotage.