Dear Secretary McMahon: Will U.S. Dept. of Ed Apply the Same Civil Rights Standard to Students Who Have Disabilities?
Secretary McMahon: “States and school districts cannot openly violate federal law while simultaneously receiving federal funding with no additional scrutiny.”
Dear Secretary McMahon,
When U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) issued its August 19, 2025, press release announcing new accountability measures for five Northern Virginia school districts, the following quote from you stuck with me:
“States and school districts cannot openly violate federal law while simultaneously receiving federal funding with no additional scrutiny.”
It’s a strong message that left me wondering: Will this standard be applied to disability rights?
Families in the same five Northern Virginia school districts have spent decades pointing out violations with Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA), Section 504, and/or FERPA. We’ve contacted multiple USDOE offices (OSEP, OCR, SPPO), Virginia Department of Education, Department of Justice, and anyone and everyone else we hoped might do something. Everyone knows, but nothing changes. To my knowledge, when it comes to the rights of students who have disabilities, these districts have never been put on high-risk status, never had funding shifted to reimbursement-only, and never faced the same level of scrutiny.
Parents across the political spectrum agree that the rights of students who have disabilities have been ignored for too long. We’ve written letters, filed complaints, served on committees, and watched one ineffective corrective action plan after another roll by. The dates change, the children harmed change, the school superintendents change, but the violations and school lawyers seem to stay the same.
So, when USDOE says it won’t allow federal dollars to flow to districts who “openly violate federal law”, parents want to know if the same will apply when it comes to students who have disabilities. If strict scrutiny and reimbursement-only funding are warranted for one set of what USDOE deems to be violations, why not for the set of violations impacting thousands of students who have disabilities in Northern Virginia (and elsewhere)?
The inconsistency is hard to ignore and I’ve sat for a few days myself, struggling to push my own thoughts through a keyboard. If I’m being honest, USDOE’s actions look like “cherry picking” civil rights enforcement and Politics wearing Accountability’s clothes. Was this the intention?
So, here’s the final question: Will USDOE hold all districts and states accountable for protecting the rights of students who have disabilities, and require them to comply with IDEA, Section 504, and FERPA or will students who have disabilities continue to be ignored?