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Understood.org survey: Parents react to dismantling of the Dept. of Education

On March 20, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, leaving uncertainty about the impact on students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and 504 plans. Understood.org surveyed parents to gauge their reactions and concerns. 

  • Parents say they have concerns that dismantling the Department of Education will impact the quality of their child’s education. According to the survey, 59% of parents whose children don’t have an IEP or a 504 plan are concerned (41% a lot; 18% a little). Among those whose kids do have an IEP or a 504 plan, though, nearly 90% are concerned (60% a lot; 28% a little).

  • But emotions around the announcement are split — reflecting the political divide:

    • Just about as many people are expressing anger (27%) and anxiety (30%) as feeling hopeful (28%) and excited (25%).

    • Emotions for parents of children with an IEP or 504 plan are mixed as well; just as many are hopeful (30%) and excited (27%) as afraid (30%), angry (31%), and anxious (32%).

  • Many parents say that they have a trusted source for news on this topic (67%), and parents of children with an IEP or a 504 plan are even more confident in their sources at 76%. 

  • Looking ahead, parents are most concerned about support and funding for schools.

    • 32% of parents whose children don’t have an IEP or a 504 plan are concerned that their kids could lose services or support. But that number jumps to 57% among parents of kids who do have an IEP or a 504 plan.

    • 46% of all parents want to know whether school budgets will be impacted, with parents sharing similar concerns regardless of whether their child has an IEP or a 504 plan.

For more information, visit: https://www.understood.org/en/topics/iep-504-plan-toolkit

Methodology: Between March 21 and March 28, 2025, the Understood.org research team conducted an online survey using Qualtrics with a nationally representative sample of 510 U.S. parents of children ages 18 or younger. Among these respondents, 290 are parents of children who learn and think differently as identified by the presence of an IEP or 504 plan. For this sample, the data are accurate to within ±4.3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.