Inside Pennsylvania’s only public school dedicated solely to serving students with special needs, Democratic elected leaders, union officials and others on Tuesday decried the Trump administration’s plans to overhaul the U.S. Department of Education.
Widener Memorial, located next to the Philadelphia High School for Girls in Logan, relies on Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funding managed by the education department to provide small class sizes and additional services to students, school staff said.
“We need pools. We need PT (physical therapy), OT (occupational therapy) just to feel free,” said Widener 11th grader Taisha Cruz, who uses a wheelchair. “Hearing there’s a possibility that might be taken down, it’s sad, and I don’t want it to happen.”
President Donald Trump has vowed to dismantle the Department of Education, and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, which organized the rally, believes IDEA dollars and other funding sources could come under threat.
PFT’s national union, the American Federation of Teachers, organized events throughout the country Tuesday in an attempt to spark activism against the proposed changes. The effort came a day after the U.S. Senate confirmed Trump’s education secretary, Linda McMahon.
McMahon, a former wrestling executive, issued a memo Monday outlining the department’s “final mission,” which she wrote would be “to restore the rightful role of state oversight in education and to end the overreach from Washington.”
Daniel Urevick-Ackelsberg, a Public Interest Law Center attorney who worked on Pennsylvania’s historic school funding lawsuit, characterized the letter as “legally meaningless.”
“But I think it’s important for all of us to not accept declarations from Washington, D.C., as if we have a king, because we don’t,” he said. “The Department of Education exists. It is created by law. If they want to dismantle it, they have to do it by law.”
“So a letter from Linda McMahon, a tweet from Donald Trump does not change that reality, and it’s up to all of us to ensure that the basic norms of the American system of government continue,” Urevick-Acklesberg continued.
In addition to the IDEA money, the Department of Education provides special funding for schools in low-income areas, known as Title 1, and support for English language learners.
The School District of Philadelphia receives more than $500 million a year from the federal government, including $178 million for Title 1, $86 million for school meals and $56 million for special education, according to the PFT.
Urevick-Acklesberg said Title 1 pays for 1,450 district teachers, with some schools having more than 20 positions funded. The law also provides educators in charter and some private schools.
PFT members handed out leaflets to parents at about 150 schools Tuesday to provide information and encourage them to advocate against any cuts, union members said.
“This is a serious time. We need to sound the alarm,” said City Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, chair of the education committee. “Every American all across the country needs to understand that these decisions by the federal government will have an impact on generations to come.”
“We have these two billionaires – Elon Musk and Donald Trump – these men do not want public schools to exist,” Councilmember Kendra Brooks, of the Working Families Party, told those gathered at Widener.
“This is our moment to become activated, and no one is exempt,” she added. “I’m talking to the students, too. You have a piece in this fight.”
