This month’s blog post comes from Julianna O’Hara, WRH College Prep’s corporate counsel. Julianna has spent her legal career helping children defend themselves in the legal system. We are fortunate to have her as part of the WRH College Prep family and for her knowledge of these important legal issues that affect our students.
The law now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was established in 1975. IDEA opened doors for millions of disabled students who had been institutionalized or denied an education on the basis of disability. Fifty years later, this law—in tandem with Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act—continues to ensure students with disabilities in every community are provided with a “free appropriate public education.”
Recently, the Trump Administration has announced plans to close the Department of Education. Legally, the executive branch cannot dismantle the Department of Education or alter IDEA funding congressional approval. These would be presented as two separate proposals. The elimination of the Department of Education does not automatically dismantle IDEA — Congress must vote to eliminate IDEA.
However, the closing of the Department of Education would transfer two of its key functions to state oversight and enforcement. These two functions are:
enforcing critical civil rights laws—including IDEA, Section 504, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act—that protect disabled students from discrimination and ensure they receive the educational supports they need to succeed
distributing congressionally mandated IDEA funding to the states to help them provide services to public school students with disabilities.
Under IDEA, public schools must provide children with qualifying disabilities the supports they need to make meaningful academic progress in the least restrictive learning environment (PDF). These specific supports are mapped by teachers, administrators, and parents in each child’s Individualized Education Program (IEPs). These programs are legally binding and establish what special education services and accommodations a school must provide to help a student succeed. Currently, more than 7.5 million students across the US have an IEP, representing more than 15 percent of all public school students ages 3–21.
State and local governments provide 90 percent of funding for public schools (K-12) in the United States. But federal funding also has an important role in providing special education under IDEA and Section 504 (PDF). Last year, the Department of Education distributed more than $15 billion in IDEA funding (up to 12 percent of school district spending on special education). The law allows the federal government to cover up to 40 percent of the average per-student cost of special education. The US Department of Education is critical to ensuring disabled children in every community have access to a free, appropriate public education.