Trump Is Once Again Trying to Change the Law With Memos

OA1276 - Who could have predicted this? Us! The Trump administration has made their complete disdain for people with disabilities clear since day one. We’ve called it out before, and the natural progression of those efforts came to a head mid-June when they announced their intention to turn over governance of special education to RFK Jr in HHS (least trusted man in America when it comes to the needs of your child with a disability), continue dismantling the Department of Education overall, further reduce their investigations of educational discrimination, and, just two days later, their commitment to overturning major protections against forced institutionalization. What’s happening, how did we get here, why does it matter, and what can anyone do about it? Tune in to find out.

OA episode callbacks:

• 1238 Deep dive on Olmstead

• 1180 the history of forced institutionalization and “ugly laws”, and the executive order “Ending crime and disorder on America’s streets”

• 1141 The Section 504 protests

• 1171 A.J.T. v Osseo area schools (rights to accommodations for students with disabilities)

Part 1; attempted dismantling of Olmstead:

• Olmstead v. L.C. ex rel. Zimring, 527 U.S. 581 (1999)

• 28 C.F.R. § 35.130(d)

• Exec. Order No. 14321, 90 Fed. Reg. 35817 (Jul 24, 2025)

• Application of the Rehabilitation Act and Americans with Disabilities Act to State Institutionalization of Patients with Severe Mental Illness or Disabilities, 50 Op. O.L.C. __ (June 18, 2026)

Part 2; the dismantling of the Department of Education:

• Exec. Order No. 14242, 90 Fed. Reg. 13679 (Mar. 20, 2025)

• Compl., State of New York v. McMahon, No. 1:25-cv-10601 (D. Mass. amended 01/09/2026)

• McMahon v. New York, 606 U.S. ___ (2025)

• Interagency Agreement Between the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Labor Relating to the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) (plus addendums)

• Christy Wolfe (Dec. 16, 2025), Transferring K-12 Programs to Labor: Why Costs and Logistics Could Be a Problem for States and Schools, Bipartisan Policy Center

• Jennifer Smith Richards & Jodi S. Cohen (Mar. 2, 2026), ProPublica Sues Education Department for Withholding Records About Discrimination in Schools, ProPublica.

• U.S. Government Accountability Office (Feb. 2, 2026), Department of Education:

• Full Costs and Savings Estimate Needed for Reduction-in-Force and Restructuring of the Office for Civil Rights.

• U.S. Dept. of Education (June 16, 2026). U.S. Department of Education Announces Additional Partnerships to Strengthen Coordination for Individuals with Disabilities Programs, Bolster Civil Rights Enforcement.

• A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools, Independent School Dist. No. 279, 605 U.S. 335 (2025)

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973: 29 U.S.C. § 794

• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: 20 U.S.C. § 1400-1409

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