printable version
For Immediate Release
October 15, 2025
Contact: Kate McDuffie
National Association of School Nurses
kmcduffie@nasn.org
SILVER SPRING, MD — The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) strongly condemns the recent layoffs at the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) within the U.S. Department of Education. This action jeopardizes federal oversight of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the essential rights of children with disabilities.
School nurses are often the first line of support for students with disabilities, ensuring access to education, health services, and a safe participation in school life. Prior to IDEA’s passage, 50 years ago, many children with disabilities were denied access to public education entirely. IDEA serves as a vital safeguard for millions of students, ensuring their access to services and supports that promote educational success and lifelong opportunity.
These cuts to OSERS effectively dismantle the federal capacity to uphold IDEA’s promise. This dismantling erodes both the legal and moral commitments our nation has made to children with disabilities. Without strong federal leadership and oversight, enforcement of IDEA will suffer, leaving schools, families, and students vulnerable, thereby undermining decades of progress toward inclusive education, and violating the nation’s legal and moral obligations.
Chronic underfunding has already strained schools’ abilities to meet IDEA mandates. Removing federal expertise and oversight will magnify these inequities, leaving school without guidance and families without recourse. This action by the Trump Administration will only deepen challenges, create disruption, confusion, and cause harm to the very students the law is meant to protect.
NASN calls on the Department of Education and Congress to immediately restore OSERS staffing and reaffirm the federal government’s full commitment to IDEA implementation. Our children, especially those with disabilities, deserve better. NASN believes we must reaffirm our national commitment to equity, access, and the full promise of public education for all students. Protecting the rights and well-being of students with disabilities is not optional. It is a moral and legal imperative.
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About NASN
The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) is a nonprofit specialty nursing organization, organized in 1968 and incorporated in 1977, representing school nurses exclusively. NASN has more than 18,000 members. The mission of NASN is to optimize student health and learning by advancing the practice of school nursing. To learn more about NASN, please visit us on the Web at www.nasn.org or call 866-627-6767.
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