Call to Action
Tell your Senator and Congressperson to protect IDEA by keeping it in the Education Department. These phone calls are tabulated so make your opinion heard. This is doubly true if you are represented by a Republican Senator or Congressperson.
Stories are powerful: Write a post on social media or a letter to the editor of your local paper. Tell your community how special education has helped you or someone you know. Maybe you are a teacher and remember a student who was well served by IDEA, or you were a Special Educator who helped serve these students. Make the principle of individualized education specific.
Background
IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, is the federal law, passed 50 years ago this month, that ensures that children with disabilities receive a free and appropriate education in their public school. IDEA was a game changer for students and their parents. Within the limits of the law, students with disabilities are guaranteed educational services in a manner and an environment that respects their individual situation, abilities and needs. Though perpetually underfunded, IDEA has fostered hope and provided opportunities for students and families. Importantly, schools get better at serving ALL students when they treat each one as an individual. IDEA is an embodiment of this principle.
The Trump administration is attempting to dismantle the Education Department. The management and funding of most K-12 and higher education offices and services will be transferred to the Labor Department. For this administration, students are workers, not learners. The management and funding of Special Education will be given to Health and Human Services (HHS). This is troubling both practically and philosophically. HHS has no experience or expertise in administering programs in the thousands of affected schools. Moreover, this transfer may signal a movement to a medicalized approach to disabilities where disability is treated as a disease, rather than the current educational approach where each individual has potential. These changes would increase the burdens of families, educators and states trying to navigate the already complex federal systems.
Immediate action is needed! The administration is working to make these changes happen as early as the end of this year, so please take your action before this week is out!