OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Tuesday, Oct. 21, co-led a coalition of state attorneys general in a letter opposing the Trump administration’s proposal to eliminate federal reporting requirements that help the U.S. Department of Education identify and address inequities in special education and disability programs.
Bonta said the Trump administration “wants to get rid of reporting requirements that help shine a light on race-based disparities in special education for students with disabilities,” arguing that the data collected through such reports allows education in disadvantaged communities to gradually improve. He warned that eliminating the requirements would lead to further inequality.
“The disturbing reality is that children of color are disproportionately — and often mistakenly — represented in special education,” Bonta said. “Transparency in identifying and reporting this data is critical to addressing longstanding racial and ethnic inequities that remain pervasive and deeply problematic in our classrooms today.”
For years, the U.S. Department of Education has worked to reduce educational inequality through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The Trump administration’s proposal seeks to roll back that progress, according to the Office of the Attorney General.
“The Department seeks to improperly remove the requirement for states to report changes to their methodology for calculating significant disproportionality, falsely claiming that it will relieve states of administrative burden,” the office said.
The office further warned that, if the proposal takes effect, “some states may revert to prior practices that could prevent them from identifying the magnitude of racial and ethnic overrepresentation in special education.” Without the data, the Department’s Office of Special Education Programs would have difficulty analyzing how best to support vulnerable student populations.
In their letter to the administration, Bonta and the coalition urged the Department of Education to withdraw its proposed rule, emphasizing that the future of children who rely on equitable and well-supported public education depends on preserving the reporting requirements.
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