While Nathan was attending Nashville public schools, Marsh was a constant presence, ensuring that he received adequate resources and support as a student with autism. She closely observed his teachers and communicated with them promptly if issues arose in the classroom. Administrators got to know her well and that she means business," she said.
Middle school was the most challenging period. At DuPont Hadley Middle, there was no academic assistance available for students with disabilities in general education classes. In Marsh's words, the school "threw him to the wolves."
"He's reading on a second grade level, and you're trying to get him to do fifth grade work," she told the Nashville Banner. "I would not accept that."
Each Friday morning, Marsh would show up at an assistant principal's office, coffee in hand, to explain why the classroom setup was not working and demand a solution. After a few of these meetings, the school conceded. Administrators created a separate English Language Arts class, led by one general education and one special education teacher.
"Parents don't know that you can get things done if you really rattle chains," she said. "It's unfortunate, but that's the way it is."
Even so, according to Marsh, the middle school stopped offering that class the year after Nathan graduated.
Parents like Marsh already feel the responsibility to advocate on behalf of their children to protect their rights in the classroom. That responsibility could soon become more acute.
A 'CORE PRINCIPLE'
With the Trump administration determined to shut down the U.S. Department of Education, special education experts warn that the consequences will fall on families and students in Tennessee and nationwide.
The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs oversees the funding and implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the federal law that requires schools to provide students with disabilities a "free and appropriate" public education.
In October, the Department of Education laid off 121 employees of its Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, including most of the Office of Special Education Programs. Employees returned to the office in November after a deal to end the 43-day government shutdown reversed the layoffs.
Then, days after staffing at the office was reinstated, the Department of Education announced it had moved the management of K-12 and postsecondary education to the Department of Labor, perhaps its most dramatic step toward dismantling the department altogether.
For now, special education remains under the Department of Education's jurisdiction. Yet the future of the Office of Special Education Programs is uncertain, as President Donald Trump has already indicated that he would like to move special education programs to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Joseph La Belle, co-facilitator of the IDEA Preservation Coalition, said it's important for the office to stay in the Department of Education to ensure equal support for general and special education. The coalition of nationwide parent training and information centers launched in April to support office-funded projects.
"It's the core principle that this is an educational law," La Belle told the Banner. "We don't want general education to be housed one place and special education to be housed somewhere else. That's tantamount to separating kids with disabilities."
Keeping the special education office in the Department of Education would also help maintain the entirety of its staff, many of whom are career professionals with deep specialized knowledge in special education. Moving the office could risk "losing those individuals who are working day in and day out" to support students, according to La Belle, whereas the Department of Health and Human Services does not have expertise in education.
OVERSIGHT AND DUE PROCESS
While the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act outlines students' rights under federal law, the special education office is responsible for providing states with guidance and clarification on these federal protections and then monitoring states to ensure their compliance. That oversight and accountability could be lost as the U.S. Department of Education is dissolved.
For instance, a review conducted by the office and published in July 2025 found several gaps in the Tennessee Department of Education's system for identifying and correcting noncompliance with act requirements among school districts. The report stated that these issues could "impact the delivery of special education and related services" to students.
According to Jeff Strand, the assistant director of government relations at EdTrust-Tennessee, the law is a complex set of regulations that are expensive and resource-intensive to implement. He described the special education office as the "hammer" that encourages states and schools to follow the law, and to do it well.
"I don't think that the state of Tennessee would, under any circumstance, purposefully reduce the amount of support services or its commitment to kids with disabilities," he said. "But without that oversight, who's to make sure?"
The loss of this oversight could result in diminished quality and timeliness of individualized education programs, which outline a student's needs, goals and services. The law sets strict deadlines under which school districts are required to design a program. In Tennessee, districts have 60 days to complete an evaluation to determine whether a student is eligible for an individualized program.
Without the special education office to ensure that students are receiving timely evaluations, these timelines could get extended, according to Strand.
"IDEA directly recognizes that if you are not getting kids timely services, you're missing out on support for that child that you'll never get back," he said. "They keep getting older, school keeps progressing, and they're falling further behind."
Without the office, federal funding for special education could also be at risk.
Part of the special education office's responsibilities includes developing resources and best practices in special education. It can advocate for increased funding for innovative practices that may be costly yet could benefit students, Strand explained, including new adaptive or assistive technologies, communication devices or workforce development to retain more special education teachers and workers.
"As we watch schools innovate or we see a special education population increase, there's nobody at the wheel to make sure that funds are reflective of realities in the classroom," Strand said. "I could see a world where it just suddenly becomes not enough."
Another central role of the office is overseeing due process hearings.
When a family feels that a school is not in compliance with the the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, it has several options. After contacting the school and district, families can file an administrative complaint with the state Department of Education or pursue a due process hearing before a judge. Families can also contact the special education office for support, which can serve as a point of connection between the family and state throughout this process.
Having a system in place to submit complaints and seek redress can also help deter violations of the law. Marsh shared that while she has never filed a formal complaint, she raised it as a possibility in her meetings with the assistant principal at DuPont Hadley Middle when requesting academic support for students with disabilities.
"If you threatened it, stuff started to change real quick. You got somebody's attention," she recalled. "The reason he was taking my meetings is because the head principal was like, 'She's not going away.'"
Strand recommended that if the office will soon be unable to address complaints from families, Tennessee should create an independent remedial body that can process those complaints and hold the state accountable to enforcing the the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
'STOPPING IS NOT AN OPTION'
Since the first announcement that the Trump administration intends to dismantle the Department of Education, TNSTEP has received an influx of calls from families who feel intense confusion and fear about what this means for their children's rights and services.
"What we are saying to families is that IDEA has not vanished," said Stephanie Willis, the deputy director at TNSTEP. "They're not alone, we are here, and we're not going anywhere."
TNSTEP is Tennessee's only parent training and information center. The nonprofit hosts training sessions and works closely with families to equip them with the knowledge to be effective advocates for their children. This includes information on eligibility and evaluations for special education services, understanding students' rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and strategies on what to do in cases of noncompliance.
Parent training centers like TNSTEP rely on the special education office for guidance when informing families of their rights under the law. Without the office's guidance, Willis believes families could face a "greater burden" in understanding their rights and navigating special education services on their own.
"We do believe that will mean more families relying on us," Willis said. "We're trying to pour our energy into gearing up for what is coming."
Indeed, parents already feel this burden. Marsh said her biggest complaint about Nashville public schools was that "there is not a freaking Waffle House menu card as to what they can offer you." She had to seek out information about services available at the district, sharing her knowledge with other families and even sitting in on their indiviualized plan meetings to offer her support.
"It's exhausting," Marsh admitted. Yet, when it comes to advocating for Nathan, she believes "stopping is not an option."
"You're either determined or you're not. You either have 'get up and go,' or you don't," she said. "I think I had all of it, because he was mine, and I wanted him to be the best that he could be.
© 2025 the Chattanooga Times/Free Press (Chattanooga, Tenn.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
