Howard County special education concerns exacerbated by plans to dismantle Department of Education

Concerns have been growing in Howard County over special education after President Donald Trump issued his executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.

These concerns have piled onto already existing concerns, as families and educators have called for better special education investment and staffing for years.

Benjamin Schmitt, the president of the Howard County Education Association, or HCEA, said he's worried about protections and funding for students with disabilities.

Howard County Public School System [HCPSS] said in a statement that the school district is monitoring how the dismantling of the Department of Education will impact the county.

Sounding the alarm

While it's still to be determined what special education will look like post-Department of Education, Mr. Trump said students with special needs would be handled by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Trump has issued an executive order to get rid of the Department of Education, but Congress has the final approval.

Howard County parents and special educators have been sounding the alarm on the state of the district's special education programs.

"I have seen first-hand how overwhelmed our special education system is in elementary grades," said Shen Zhao, a parent who has a 3-year-old and 7-year-old with autism. "Case managers are stretched across multiple grade levels, handling caseloads far beyond what they can realistically manage."

"HCPSS has known about the issues for years," added special educator Rebecca Bell. "You've heard testimony, there are several task forces looking into special education, as well as the audit you commissioned."

Seeking help from the FY26 budget

In the latest proposed Fiscal Year 2026 operating budget, HCPSS superintendent Bill Barnes added more than 30 special education positions and backfilled more than 100 vacancies.

The Howard County Board of Education approved the FY26 operating and capital budgets earlier this month. Howard County Executive Calvin Ball will present his budget -- which will include HCPSS funding -- to the County Council next month.

Once the final county budget is adopted by the County Council, the Board of Education will make changes accordingly, and adopt the final school district budget in May.

Schmitt said neighboring school districts have made it difficult to fill openings, especially with incentives.

He said some school districts provide a bonus for special educators, or "provide them extra hours that are paid to get [their] paperwork done."

Schmitt adds it's caseloads for special educators are typically smaller in other school districts.

On the proposed budget, Schmitt admits there is some hope. However, he wants to see momentum behind it to really fix the problem.

"I'm hopeful for some change, I think the time is right now to not only help our students but to show our community partners -- our parents -- that this is serious," Schmitt said.

HCPSS is currently auditing its special education program. Families can take a survey, you can find that here.