Dear ACB Members, Leaders, and Affiliates,
On October 11th, the U.S. Department of Education enacted sweeping layoffs that have left the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), and the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) nearly dismantled. This follows a major reduction earlier this year that had already cut nearly half of the workforce. These cuts remove the very staff responsible for enforcing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Rehabilitation Act, putting critical protections for students and adults with disabilities at serious risk.
Although there have been updates, we remain concerned that these layoffs may proceed. If these decisions stand, core functions our field relies on—teacher preparation grants, research projects, federal quota implementation, accessible educational materials, early intervention, deafblind services, VR monitoring, Older Blind services, and Randolph-Sheppard entrepreneurship programs—will be effectively nonfunctional. Oversight, expertise, and enforcement cannot happen when offices are dark, cubicles sit empty, and staff are gone.
It takes just a minute to use our advocacy platform to contact your congressional representatives.
The American Council of the Blind (ACB), VisionServe Alliance, and The Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER) ask you to join us to advocate.
As you receive responses from your congressional representatives, please share how these decisions directly affect your work and the lives of children, working-age adults, and older individuals who are blind or have low vision. While it is natural to want to defend the dedicated professionals who have served our field, our message to Congress must remain focused and clear: These staffing cuts must be undone, and the Department must be restored to fulfill its legally mandated role.
AER has provided added background documents on OSEP, RSA, and OCR to use now or in the future as you advocate for the Department’s continued viability. These materials were developed independently and are being made publicly available to provide individuals and groups with clear, comprehensive information. This information communicates the Department’s vital role in the lives of people with disabilities and its impact on the professionals and service systems that support them.
Posted on October 20, 2025