producers and stores. >> Dipesh Navsaria, thanks
very much. >> Thanks for having me.
>> There's more fallout from federal cuts and
layoffs for Wisconsin, this time with cuts to the U.S.
Department of Education. In the midst of the government
shutdown, the Trump administration laid off
more than 450 employees in the department, nearly all
of them in the office that oversees special education
requirements for states. While a federal judge
temporarily paused the mass layoffs, deep concerns
remain, including for Beth Swedeen, executive director
of the Wisconsin Board for people with Developmental
Disabilities. And thanks a lot for being here.
>> Thank you. >> So a federal judge,
midweek, as we just said, temporarily halted mass
layoffs in federal agencies. to the consequence relating
to special education in Wisconsin?
concerned because, as you know, everybody is off
anyway, with the government being shut down. And we
just don't know what those people will come back
in a timely way. And then, of course, when you don't
know if your job is secure, we are assuming a lot of
those people might be going elsewhere anyway. So
there's always a concern when there's this kind of
threat that you don't bounce back from it very
quickly. employees stand, what would
the staff cuts in the Office of Special Education
and Rehabilitative Services mean for children here in
the classroom? >> We think that almost all
of the positions were cut with the exception of a
handful. So from several hundred down to, you know,
under ten. So those are the folks who, when a family
can't get redressed in the state, or if a school
district has a question about interpretation of the
law, that's where they went. And so that means that even
though we have this federal statute in place, this
federal law that's 50 years old this year, there's
nothing to enforce it if those cuts go through.
>> So this law, the Disabilities Education Act
or Idea, guarantees public special education services
to nearly 130,000 students in Wisconsin. What was it
like for students with disabilities before the
federal law was passed in 1975?
>> Well, those students weren't students. So before
1975, if you had a significant disability or
developmental disability, but like a physical
disability, a school district did not have to
serve you. So we know almost all students were
either at home with their families or unfortunately
in institutions because medical doctors were saying
there's really nothing, no future for your child. Why
don't you just go to a state institution or they
around 50, 60 years ago, some families with a little
more vision and kind of a can do attitude did start
their own schools, often in church basements, but there
were no protections in place. And students who
really had so much potential never saw that
because they couldn't even enter the door of a school.
>> Because students with special needs can learn and
can be educated and can succeed.
as you know, as a disability community, we
have seen that happen. We have seen even students
with the most significant disabilities, with the
right supports, with the right services, and now
with oftentimes the right technology, they can be
successful, they can work in the community, they can
live either semi-independently or with
some support, living out in the community. And they can
have very fulfilling lives. >> So if the US Department
of Education more generally wants states to take over
these and other services, what's on the horizon for
special education? >> Well, the dismantling
came first, and the idea of sending those dollars and
the responsibility to the states has yet to
materialize. So we don't really know what the future
is. Usually when you want to reform something, you
look at it carefully to see where the flaws are, and
then you develop a plan and supports for implementing
the changes. That has not happened in this situation.
The cuts have come first and then some lip service
toward maybe states can take over, but we really
don't know what that looks like. And as you probably
know, that could take years to sort of switch that over.
And I think what's important with idea with
this federal law is it's a federal law. So the feds
are the ones who need to enforce the law. States
oftentimes have had issues where they have not
that's when the feds have come in and said, no state,
you're not doing it correctly. We're going to
give you, you know, guidance on how you need to
change things. Department of Education cut
would eliminate about $8 million of a grant to
Wisconsin to attract and retain special education
teachers. What's your reaction to that?
>> Well, we've seen several different cuts. That's one
that you're referring to, something that really
prepares special education teachers and encourages
them to go into the field and stay in the field.
There was also a program for deaf blind students
that was cut. So we see this as continuous attacks
on students with disabilities and the
supports and services they need to be successful.
>> And so where does this leave students and families?
>> Well, I was not the first one to hear about
this. There was a ripple across the state over the
weekend on social media and elsewhere from families.
Families were the ones who heard the news first, and
they're really concerned. I mean, they're as you
mentioned, we already have significant problems with
getting enough special education teachers. There's
a lot of teachers on emergency licenses right
now, and school districts are having a hard time with
budgets, providing the full array of services that
students need and that are in their plans. So this is
not this is something that we're really concerned
about moving forward, that that there will not be any
enforcement and that enforcement and that