Congress added $23 million to IDEA special education funding in 2026 — a 0.15% increase, below inflation. At the same time, a $3.78 billion cut to Title I was proposed and rejected, the Office for Civil Rights has been gutted, and the conservative Project 2025 blueprint to dismantle federal education oversight remains on the table. Here's what NYC parents need to know.

Congress, with the January 3, 2026 signing of H.R. 7148, added $23 million in new IDEA funding. That's a 0.15% increase — below inflation. Technically not a cut. Effectively a cut.

If you spent the last year worried that IDEA would be gutted, you can exhale. It survived.

But that number is designed to be a headline. And headlines can hide what's happening underneath.

The support systems that surround special education — school funding, civil rights enforcement, transition programs — were either cut or threatened with cuts.

The House Appropriations Committee recommended cutting Title I by $3.78 billion. Congress rejected the cut — this time.

Title I pays for:

The Administration also proposed eliminating Adult Education funding. Congress rejected that too. The Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) remains funded within the $2.18 billion Career, Technical, and Adult Education account — flat-funded, but not eliminated.

Meanwhile, charter schools got a $60 million raise.

The cuts didn't pass. But the pressure to cut is real — and growing.

Yes.

President Trump has spent a decade pushing to dismantle the Department of Education. After taking office in January 2025, he told the New York Times:

"We're going to shut it down, and shut it down as quickly as possible."

He signed an executive order to shift federal education responsibilities to the states. He delayed funding to the states.

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon moved fast, as the New York Times reported:

No. Not effectively.

The OCR — the federal agency that was supposed to have your child's back — has been gutted from the inside.

We spoke with Michaela Shuchman, a staff attorney at Legal Services NYC, in December. She didn't mince words:

"Civil rights enforcement is pretty much… gone for the time being."

Congress fully funded OCR at $140 million. Despite this, the NYC office appears non-functional: I checked their website:

Without a functioning OCR, there's no one at the federal level making sure your child gets what they're legally owed.

Funding delayed is funding denied.

We spoke with Dr. Francis Tabone, head of school at Cooke School and Institute in Manhattan. He described what the funding delays that occurred last summer look like in real life:

"Trump threatened to get rid of Title 1, 2, 3, 4 — federal funds that impact our programming. Payments were delayed, and by the time money came through, the window to use it had closed."

Schools receive federal money on a timeline. If that money arrives late, it often can't be spent — the deadline has passed.

"Even after money arrived, it was hard to use. Delays and uncertainty made planning almost impossible."

For schools that serve children with disabilities and rely on Title payments, late money means fewer staff, fewer supports, and bigger gaps in your child's education.

Lindsey Burke is a Department of Education official. She also wrote the education chapter of Project 2025, the conservative blueprint.

In it, she proposed three things:

1. Turn IDEA funding into block grants with no strings attached.
No federal requirement to follow IEP rules. No oversight. Money goes to local agencies and they decide what to do with it. (Project 2025, p. 326)

2. Phase out Title I over ten years.
Transfer it. Strip the requirements. Then slowly defund it. By the time most parents noticed, the money would already be gone. (Project 2025, p. 325)

3. Move Office of Civil Rights to the Department of Justice.
Right now, you can file a discrimination complaint for free. OCR investigates. They can force the school to fix it. Under this proposal, your only option would be to sue in federal court. Most families can't afford that. Schools know it. (Project 2025, p. 326)

Then she walked it back in an interview with Chalkbeat. Burke said:

"That's not something we are currently contemplating here at the agency. Anything like that would have to go through Congress."

She also reassured parents about IDEA:

"There is no world in which anybody's talking about any reductions in support for IDEA."

So what did Congress actually do?

Nothing Burke said to Chalkbeat was technically false.

But everything the Trump administration did moved one step closer to the plan she wrote.

Charter schools are publicly funded but privately run. They now receive $500 million in federal funding — up $60 million from last year.

Here's the problem: charter schools typically enroll fewer students with disabilities. Many don't have the specialized staff or resources to support complex learning needs.

If your child has an IEP, this shift matters. As more money flows toward charter schools and less toward traditional public schools, the schools that actually serve your child are losing ground.

Your child's public school still has the same legal obligations. It just has less money to meet them.

One more thing worth knowing: to help pay for the charter school increase, Congress cut $31 million from Ready to Learn — the program that funded PBS educational shows for young children. That's not a rounding error. That's Sesame Street-level programming that many families with young children depend on.

One more thing worth knowing: to help pay for the charter school increase, Congress cut $31 million from Ready to Learn — the program that funded PBS educational shows for young children. That's not a rounding error. That's Sesame Street-level programming that many families with young children depend on.

Yes — even without a traditional diploma.

Here's something most parents of children with disabilities don't know:

Under the Higher Education Opportunity Act, students with intellectual disabilities can use Pell Grants to attend approved Comprehensive Transition and Postsecondary (CTP) programs. These aren't traditional college programs. They teach:

There are more than 300 approved programs nationwide. You can search them at thinkcollege.net.

Trump proposed slashing Pell Grants by nearly 40%. Congress rejected that. The maximum award stays at $7,395.

If your child is in middle school or high school, bookmark this now. This is one pipeline that survived.

Yes. Even though it feels pointless.

We asked Michaela Shuchman from Legal Services NYC about this. Her answer was direct:

"Parents should still file complaints with the Office for Civil Rights. Otherwise, the federal government could claim, 'See, there were never that many complaints. This office was never necessary.'"

"In reality, we know families aren't filing because it feels pointless — a waste of time for people who already have so much to manage."

She's right. It feels pointless. Do it anyway. Every complaint filed is evidence that this office is needed. Your complaint protects the next family.

Here's how to file a complaint.

At the state level, the New York State Division of Human Rights (DHR) will now carry more of the enforcement burden. But they weren't built to replace a federal agency.

Here's how to file a complaint.

📌 FDA Removes Webpage Warning Against Fake Autism Treatments — ProPublica
The FDA quietly took down its consumer warning about dangerous products marketed as autism cures — including chlorine dioxide, chelation, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. A child died from chelation in 2005. Another died in a hyperbaric chamber fire last year. Whether or not the government warns you, we will: if someone promises a cure for autism, protect your child.

📌 Surgeon General Nominee Won't Say Whether Parents Should Vaccinate Their Kids — Politico
During her confirmation hearing, Casey Means refused to say whether parents should vaccinate their children and didn't reject the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism. The next Surgeon General's stance on autism matters to every family in this community.

📌 Your Child's Brain Isn't Shutting Down — It's Choosing What to Focus On — Psychology Today
Why does your child cover their ears in a noisy room? Need to leave a birthday party after ten minutes? New research reframes these moments. Understanding this can change how you support them.

📌 What Autism Looks Like at 20 — The Advance-Titan
Nolan Andler is autistic, a college student, and a sports editor at his campus paper. He writes honestly about executive function, masking, and feeling like you're failing when you're actually succeeding. If you've ever wondered what your child's inner world might look like at 20, read this.

N.’s self-portrait at 8, with heart.

Please share any artwork, pictures or poems from your children! Send to: [email protected]

We're Sharon and Brian, parents to a 12-year-old with disabilities.

Sharon is an autistic autism educator, book author, and holistic therapist. Brian is a journalist and editor. Together, we've spent years navigating the special needs system — as professionals AND as parents.

We built Lighthouse because there's no single place where our community can find:

This information exists. It's scattered across government websites, Facebook groups, and whispered conversations in school hallways. Lighthouse brings it together. Once a month. In your inbox.

If you're reading this, you're one of our first subscribers. Here's what we'd ask:

IncludeNYC provides information, individual assistance, and training to youth, families, and professionals. They have great workshops for every stage of the journey. Check their events calendar here.

NYC has a new person in charge of special education. Deputy Chancellor Christina Foti, the former Chief of Special Education for the DOE, now oversees special education, multilingual learners, and District 75.

We’re digging into her background and track record. In our next issue, we’ll tell you what we found—and what it means for our children.