Federal Special Education Oversight 'Decimated' by Layoffs, Raising Concerns for North Carolina Schools
By Marge | Published 2025-10-13T15:22:28.962+00:00
News
North Carolina -- October 13, 2025: The federal office responsible for overseeing special education for millions of American children was effectively "gutted" by a mass Reduction in Force (RIF) action last Friday, according to union officials and internal sources.
The sweeping layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) have generated immediate concern among educators and advocates in Western North Carolina (WNC) about the future stability of services for students with disabilities.The cuts are part of a broader RIF targeting federal agencies during the ongoing government shutdown, but the impact on OSEP—a relatively small office with a critical mission—is widely described as debilitating.The Core of the Cuts