How would special education be impacted without a U.S. Dept. of Ed?

The Trump administration’s executive order to dismantle the U.S. Dept. of Education and eliminate its cabinet-level bureaucracy has stirred up headlines that such a move would strand K-12 students without resources or support.

According to the White House Fact Sheet, while the EO directs the Secretary of Education to take necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education, the “delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely” are to continue.

For example, concerning special education, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) law originally enacted in 1975 created federal protections that predate the standalone U.S. Dept. of Education. Schools would still be legally required to provide the services families with special needs and disabilities need and depend on.

The money is also still there, as federal funding for special education is appropriated by the U.S. Congress each year and then allocated to states based on a formula.

Given that other federal departments have handled the delivery of these services and programs before the U.S. Dept. of Education, it has been proposed that they could again to help usher in structural reforms. For example, moving IDEA oversight and implementation to the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services.

Further, federal officials could consider revising IDEA to “require that a child’s portion of the federal taxpayer spending under the law be made available to families so parents can choose how and where a child learns,” suggests Lindsey Burke with The Heritage Foundation.

IDEA already allows families to choose a private school under certain conditions, but federal officials should update the law so that families can use their child’s IDEA spending for textbooks, education therapies, personal tutors, and other learning expenses, similar to the way in which parents use education savings accounts in states such as Arizona and Florida.

Florida passed the first statewide voucher program in 1999 specifically for students with disabilities, and today its program and the number of other choice programs across the country that also specifically serve students with disabilities/an IEP have benefited thousands of students by helping families cover tuition, therapies, tutoring, and other expenses.

Minnesota could pursue similar policy through H.F. 19 and S.F. 244 that would help open up families’ access to special education services. This legislation would allow parents looking for new learning opportunities outside of the traditional public school setting to use education savings accounts to access therapies, personal tutors, and other pre-approved learning expenses.

“…IDEA’s aspirational goals have not always translated into effective implementation across the nation’s 13,000-plus school districts,” writes Adam Peshek, senior director of Stand Together Trust, in The 74. “Many families face endless battles for evaluations, services, and compliance. For every success story, there are countless examples of parents left frustrated by the system.

“Public schools work well for many students with disabilities. But for families seeking something different, what’s the harm in allowing them to use their funds to choose a private alternative they believe will better serve their child?”