Leading Special Education Advocate Calls on Lawmakers to Reject Cuts That Hurt Disabled Students and Families

The "Big Beautiful Bill" cuts Medicaid and special education services, putting millions of disabled students at risk. Families are sounding the alarm.

PHILADELPHIA, PA, UNITED STATES, May 19, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- As the U.S. House advances the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill,” Lisa Lightner, a nationally recognized Special Education Advocate and founder of A Day in Our Shoes, is sounding the alarm on what she calls “one of the most devastating threats in years” to disabled children and their families.

Late last night, the House Budget Committee passed a bill that slashes Medicaid by hundreds of billions of dollars, restructures special education funding, and prioritizes corporate tax cuts over services that millions of families rely on.

As one of the nation’s most trusted special education advocates and founder of A Day in Our Shoes, she is calling on Congress to reject the newly advanced “One Big Beautiful Bill,” warning that it poses a devastating threat to millions of families who rely on Medicaid and special education services.

Lightner, whose online community reaches millions of parents, educators, and advocates across the country, says she’s already hearing from families who are “worried, panicked, and scared for their children’s futures.”

“I’ve worked with thousands of families over the past 15 years, and I’ve never seen parents this anxious,” said Lightner. “They’re contacting me every day, asking what they can do, because they know what’s at stake, the services their kids depend on for safety, education, and basic quality of life.”

Late Sunday night, the House Budget Committee quietly advanced the bill, which includes deep cuts to Medicaid, restructures special education funding into block grants, and makes permanent the 2017 corporate tax cuts. Those tax breaks that never reached families like the ones being targeted by this new budget.

“As a parent of a child with severe disabilities, I’ve lived this fight for 18 years,” Lightner added. “And I can tell you, this bill isn’t reform. It’s cruelty. It puts corporate tax breaks ahead of the safety and dignity of our most vulnerable citizens.”

Lightner urges families, educators, and advocates to contact their representatives before the bill reaches the House floor later this week.

Lisa Lightner
A Day in our Shoes
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