Hi everyone, I’m devastated that the Trump administration’s anti- diversity, equity, and inclusion policies target people with sensory loss. The Department of Education recently used the policy to cancel grants that funded our nation’s major braille training programs. No training = Less braille access.
- DIVERSITY: Blind, low vision, and DeafBlind students represent diversity in the general student population.
- EQUITY: Blind students have the right to receive educational materials in accessible formats such as braille.
- INCLUSION: Our students have the right to be included in all aspects of public life and community.
- The Department of Education is using these DEI terms to cancel grants that serve our community! We can’t let that happen!
You may remember, that I fought a vicious battle to obtain braille for Kai’s high school math and science classes. We ‘won’ in mediation, and Kai got what he needed, and we made braille access easier for all students in our district, but now the nation’s current and future braille readers are at risk.
BELOW IS THE INFORMATION YOU NEED TO KNOW
This information was published by AERBVI and Prevent Blindness and edited for our audience.
On September 5, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education issued non-continuation notices to all three national Braille Training Grants under the 235E Demonstration Program: Braille Training. This means that for the first time in decades, there will be no federal support for developing specialized braille training resources in the United States.
The three programs that have been eliminated are:
- California State University, Los Angeles – focused on braille and technology training
- University of Massachusetts at Boston – focused on professional development across the lifespan
- University of South Carolina Upstate – focused on preparing new teachers and service providers
This decision impacts the entire field:
- No new training resources for Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TVIs) to provide braille literacy to their students.
- No additional training for Vision Rehabilitation Therapists (VRTs) to serve adults.
- No professional development or technology innovation to address the braille literacy crisis across the lifespan.
WHY THIS REQUIRES YOUR VOICE
Each of the three universities is pursuing its own appeal through their institutional channels. The Department’s decision to terminate an entire braille program category cannot go unchallenged.
It is also important to note: all the programs that received non-continuation notices this cycle were related to sensory impairments. This is a targeted and disproportionate impact on children and adults who are blind, DeafBlind, or low vision.
Emails are too easily ignored. Calls to state offices of U.S. Senators carry weight. Especially when they come from constituents. We must ensure that Senators, particularly Republicans in the targeted states, intervene directly with the Department of Education.
ACTION STEPS
- Call your U.S. Senators’ offices, especially if you live in West Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, or Texas. (Added by Kim, Call your reps nationwide — this impacts all of our kids.)
- Ask to speak with a senior staffer in the state or district office.
- Stress that this is not a budget issue. It is a policy choice that wipes out all federal braille training programs nationwide.
- Frame your message with these points:
- Braille is literacy. Without it, students and adults lose access to education, employment, and independence.
- Eliminating these grants means there will be no national support for specialized braille training for Teachers of the Visually Impaired (TVIs) or Vocational Rehabilitation Therapists (VRTs).
- This decision harms one of the most underserved disability groups, those with sensory impairments.
- Some projects had a strong 6-year track record of success and impact.
- The effect is national, not local, and every state benefits from the professionals trained in these programs.
- Share this request with your networks.
There is so much vying for our attention these days, but we must protect our children’s futures. If your child is blind or visually impaired, I beg you to reach out to your senators and representatives.
WHO DO I CALL?
To find contact info for you representatives and senators, enter your address at: https://www.congress.gov/members
MORE ARTICLES about how the Trump administration’s anti-DEI policies are targeting sensory disabled students across the nation, including cuts to teacher training and DeafBlind programs:
ProPublica – https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-dei-students-education-deaf-blind-grant-funding
Quote from article: Lisa McConachie, of the Oregon DeafBlind Project, which serves 114 students in the state, said, the Trump administration’s view of DEI is different from how inclusion is thought of by disability advocates. “Our passion and our mission is around advocacy for inclusion for kids with disabilities,” she said. “Students in special education are often marginalized in their schools. Students in special education are often excluded.”
Quote from article: One university professor who oversees a special education master’s program has had to tell interested students—many of whom are current educators—to hold off on enrolling because there’s no guarantee the federal Part D funding that helps cover their tuition will flow.
The professor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of concern for their grant continuation, worries wavering enrollment numbers will lead the university to de-prioritize the program.
Disability Scoop: https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2025/09/11/trump-administration-yanks-funds-from-dozens-of-special-education-programs/31622
Quote from article: Lee who is now co-director of policy and advocacy at the National Down Syndrome Congress said, “These cuts touch every corner of the special education system — parent centers, personnel development, doctoral training and teacher training,” she said, noting that some terminations affected organizations with decades of expertise. “Losing those resources doesn’t just hurt institutions, it directly hurts students with disabilities and the families who rely on them.”
OUR EXPERIENCE
I think this situation has triggered PTSD for me — bringing me right back into the trauma of the battle and mediation. Don’t let this happen to your student or any others. Call your reps.
Navigating Blindness 