Attorney General Bonta Continues to Oppose Proposal to Undo Reporting Requirements That Help Address Race-Based Disparities in Special Education

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today co-led a coalition of 16 attorneys general in filing a comment letter opposing the U.S. Department of Education (U.S. ED)’s proposal to remove certain reporting requirements that help U.S. ED identify significant disproportionalities in special education programming for children with disabilities based on race. Attorney General Bonta and the coalition argue that U.S. ED’s proposal removes valuable oversight of state methodologies, overestimates the burden the current reporting requirements place on states, and harms states’ abilities to ensure equal opportunities and outcomes for all students. Attorney General Bonta and the coalition also argue that U.S. ED has failed to adequately address comments made in response to the proposal’s previous announcement. 

“President Trump’s Department of Education is using flawed reasoning and ignoring public comment in its effort to end reporting requirements that help address race-based inequalities in special education for students with disabilities,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Students of color are disproportionately identified as children with disabilities compared to their peers, and too often by mistake. This was true when U.S. ED first announced this proposal, and it remains true now. Yet U.S. ED has failed to meaningfully address the concerns that my fellow attorneys general and I expressed in this proposal’s first comment period. We will not stand by while U.S. ED attempts to baselessly halt oversight of methodologies that help states identify and address racial and ethnic inequities in our classrooms. We will continue to fight for evidence-based educational systems that improve outcomes for all students.” 

On August 22, 2025, U.S. ED announced a proposal to no longer require states to submit to the Department for review changes to the methodologies they use to identify significant disproportionalities in special education programming for children with disabilities based on race. On October 21, 2025, Attorney General Bonta filed a multistate comment letter urging U.S. ED to withdraw the proposal. On January 9, 2026, U.S. ED announced a second request for public comment regarding its proposal.  

In today’s letter, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition once again urge U.S. ED to reconsider and withdraw its proposal. In the letter, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition argue that:

• U.S. ED’s proposal would end much-needed oversight and prevent U.S. ED from fulfilling its obligation to assess changes states make to their methodologies for assessing significant disproportionalities based on race. 
• U.S. ED has failed to adequately address public comments made in response to its August 2025 announcement of the proposal, including the common sentiment that the public values the collection and publication of states’ methodologies.
• To justify its proposal, U.S. ED relies on an overestimation of the burden the affected reporting requirement places on states. From states’ experiences, the reporting burden is both minimal and worth bearing to identify and address significant disproportionality.
• Eliminating the states’ obligation to report changes to their methodology for calculating significant disproportionate representation in special education undermines the states’ interest in ensuring public transparency and equal educational opportunities and outcomes for all students, including students of color and students with disabilities. 

Attorney General Bonta and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul co-led today’s letter, and are joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.