The U.S. Department of Education has withdrawn federal funding from programs in eight states that support children who are both deaf and blind — among the country’s most vulnerable learners. The decision, worth just over $1 million annually, comes not from budget cuts but from the Trump administration’s new war on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).According to documents reviewed by ProPublica, officials cited concerns about “divisive concepts” and a reorientation towards “merit” in declining to renew the grants. The funds were originally approved through September 2028. Now, they will stop at the end of this month.For the more than 1,000 students across Wisconsin, Oregon, Washington and New England who rely on these programs, the impact is immediate and irreparable. Education Week first reported the cancellations.
The politics of inclusion
The grants at stake form part of a 40-year-old national network created in response to the rubella epidemic of the 1960s. They are small in value but pivotal in function: training teachers, equipping classrooms, and helping families navigate the complex challenges of deafblindness. Nationally, around 10,000 children and young adults, from infants to 21, live with the condition.What drew scrutiny was not the services themselves but the language of equity embedded in state applications. Oregon’s 2023 proposal, ProPublica reported, included commitments to address “inequities, racism, bias” and referenced a local district’s Center for Black Student Excellence. In Wisconsin, the Education Department objected to the state’s hiring policies ensuring opportunities for women, minorities and disabled veterans.Officials went further. According to one advocate interviewed by ProPublica, federal reviewers flagged the words “transition” and “privilege” in past applications — the first referring to childhood-to-adulthood support, the second from a parent’s note calling it “a privilege” to work with staff. Both were deemed inconsistent with new federal priorities.
Families at risk
For families, the stakes are far more tangible. In Washington, one parent told ProPublica the program had helped teachers adapt classroom strategies and connected her with other families. The loss, she said, may look small on paper but for students who “have nothing else, it is devastating.”In Oregon, program leaders said about 20 families had planned to gather at a retreat next month to share resources and medical equipment. Without funding, the event has been canceled. “Gathering those families together is a lifeline,” one organizer told ProPublica. “The disruption will be harmful for many years to come.”Wisconsin officials estimate 170 students will be directly affected. A separate grant for recruiting special-education teachers — also discontinued — was meant to address a severe staffing shortage. “Make no mistake, losing these funds will directly impact our ability to serve some of our most vulnerable kids,” state authorities told ProPublica.
A legacy undone
The irony, advocates note, is that under President Biden, states were required to include statements on equity in their applications. “We were required by the Biden administration to write a statement around equity,” one applicant recalled in an interview with ProPublica. The same inclusivity language has now become grounds for rejection.The department maintains that fewer than 35 grants were cut, while more than 500 were renewed. In a statement to ProPublica, press secretary Savannah Newhouse said the administration would no longer allow “taxpayer dollars to go out the door on autopilot” and that the priority was now “merit, fairness, and excellence.”But for disability advocates, this is less about slogans and more about survival. Deafblind students often face profound communication challenges, and these federally supported programs offered not just training but continuity, community, and hope.
The broader lesson
A $1 million cut in Washington, Oregon, Wisconsin and New England may look negligible on a federal balance sheet. But the political choice to link DEI with divisiveness risks dismantling lifelines for children whose needs are among the most complex in American education.Trump’s war on DEI has found a new frontline. This time it is deafblind children, the students least able to advocate for themselves, who will pay the price.
