More than 8 million students with disabilities are served by our nation’s public schools. Since its creation in 1980, the U.S. Department of Education has provided expertise, funding, and enforcement for federal laws that provide protections and services for students with disabilities.
These laws, including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), initially passed in 1975, established civil rights protections for students with disabilities and put in place procedures and safeguards to ensure that each of these students has access to an education tailored to their specific needs.
Recent actions taken by the federal government are a direct threat to federal ability to carry out both Section 504 and IDEA. These actions include:
- The elimination of entire departments that oversee special education. Without the staff of these departments, few, if any, experts in special education remain in the federal government.
- Proposals of reassigning special education to the Department of Health and Human Services(HHS). HHS is not an appropriate placement for special education oversight. HHS is equipped to cure disease, not to educate. We demand that the oversight of special education remain with the Department of Education.
If carried out, these actions would irreparably harm the students with disabilities who benefit from these laws.
A group of national organizations, including The Arc of the United States, are collaborating in efforts to preserve federal protections for students with disabilities. ADVOCACYDENVER is supporting this effort and encourages you to do so as well. A group of national organizations, including The Arc of the United States, are collaborating in efforts to preserve federal protections for students with disabilities. ADVOCACYDENVER is supporting this effort and encourages you to do so as well.
What Can You Do?
- Contact your members of Congress and ask for the complete rehiring of special education staffing at the Department of Education and oppose any efforts to move federal oversight of special education to HHS. The Arc U.S. provides this webpage that easily allows you to do this.
- Inform yourself and take action. Collaborating organizations hosted a Town Hall on this issue on November 4, which you can watch here. They have also created a toolkit that contains position statements from participating organizations and other steps parents, educators, and other advocacy organizations can take to support this effort, including contacting other elected officials.
- Spread the word. Tell others about what’s happening to federal support for special education and ask them to join you in this effort. Share this newsletter with others as well. If you use social media, consider posting about this issue.
“For 50 years, IDEA has had strong bipartisan support, and we are counting on Congress to ensure these firings are reversed. If not, the firings will have a devastating impact on babies, toddlers, and all children with disabilities, as well as on adults with disabilities who depend on these offices for employment supports. We must act now to reverse these harmful firings!” — National Downs Syndrome Congress
Policy Perspective is a publication of ADVOCACYDENVER. If you have any questions, please contact Paul Baumann, Policy Outreach Specialist, at pbaumann@advocacydenver.org or 303.974.2535.