Attorney General Bonta Opposes U.S. Department of Education’s Effort to Remove Reporting Requirements That Address Disparities for Students with Disabilities

OAKLAND - California Attorney General Rob Bonta today co-led a multistate comment letter opposing the U.S. Department of Education's (U.S. ED) proposal to remove certain reporting requirements for states to report on disproportionality in special education, including racial and ethnic disparities in disability identification, and in suspension and expulsion rates for children with disabilities, including racial and ethnic disparities. Attorney General Bonta and the coalition argue that data and analyses is crucial for U.S. ED and for interested stakeholders to identify whether students with disabilities, or students of particular a racial or ethnic group with disabilities are disciplined more often than their peers and whether students of a particular race or ethnic group are disproportionately identified in specific disability categories. In the letter, the attorneys general urge U.S. ED to withdraw its proposal, because the states, advocacy groups, and families need the data presented in a way stakeholders can access to promote equitable educational opportunity and inclusion in education for all students regardless of race, ethnicity, and disability status.

"We must bring awareness to which students are being inequitably disciplined to ensure all students receive the benefits of a good education, not just some," said Attorney General Bonta. "Without the data reports, disparities in treatment are difficult to identify and address. This is why efforts should be made to further improve, not obscure, how states measure and address unequal discipline - to ensure every student is supported and treated fairly."

The U.S. ED's proposed revisions will hamper decades-long efforts to address disparities in school discipline and special education identification, including disparities based on race or ethnicity. Historically, stakeholders successfully used this data to develop guidance for states to improve practices around school discipline, and to identify common challenges and collaborate on addressing issues of concern. Under the proposed revisions, the data will only be available in a massive database that is not easily accessible or navigable to the public. Therefore, interested Californians and California advocacy groups will have less meaningful access to these important data to advocate on behalf of students.

In the letter, the attorneys general request that the U.S. ED retain methodologies for reporting race-based disparities for students with disabilities in the State Performance Plans and Annual Performance Reports (SSP), as they are currently formulated, arguing that removing the reporting requirements will:

• Undermine Congress' intent of producing higher quality, more relevant, and readily accessible data in addressing disparities and run contrary to the history and aspirations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
• Minimally reduce the reporting burden by 0.4%, which does not justify the loss of important data essential for transparency and problem-solving tools to give students equal access to education, as required by the statute.
• Will end much needed oversight and opportunities for collaboration with U.S. ED to address disparities in school discipline and restrictive placements for children with disabilities, including students of color with disabilities, and will render helpful data less accessible to the public.

California has an interest in ensuring that students in its schools are not subjected to increased discipline because of their race or disability status. In February 2026, Attorney General Bonta co-led a comment letter opposing 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. In October 2025, Attorney General Bonta also co-led a comment letter opposing the Trump Administration's proposal to remove certain reporting requirements that help the U.S. ED determine whether local education agencies have significant disparities in representation in special education programming for children with disabilities based on race.

Attorney General Bonta, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, and Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell co-led today's letter, and are joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia.