One of the most important laws for students with disabilities is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This federal law ensures that students with disabilities receive a free and appropriate public education that meets their unique needs.
On Friday, the White House fired much of the federal staff that implement and enforce the IDEA, eliminating the Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) including both the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA).
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) itself remains law. However, if a state closes the door of opportunity for a student with disabilities, there is no one to answer the door at the Department of Education to help. Students with disabilities now have fewer protections for their rights.
In Illinois alone, some 330,000 students with disabilities depend upon IDEA to access education, accommodations, services, and inclusion. The offices that were dismantled serve not as optional bureaucracies, but as vital lifelines: enforcing civil rights guarantees, ensuring Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) are legally honored, conducting research to improve outcomes, supporting special education professionals, and delivering technical assistance to school districts.
The White House seeks to transfer oversight of special education to the states. Without sufficient local capacity to monitor compliance, to respond to complaints, or to support local implementation, students and families may suffer; especially those who have always faced systemic barriers.
Only fifty years ago, students with disabilities were routinely excluded from public education. We cannot and will not allow that regression. The promise of IDEA must not be hollowed out by structural disinvestment.
We call upon every concerned citizen to make their voices heard. Please contact Congress at (202) 224-3121 and ask to speak with your legislators. Calmly and respectfully, express your concerns about this dismantling of protections for students with disabilities. Our children’s rights, futures, and dignity depend on it.
Becky Ziegler Rupnick
Illinois Spina Bifida Association
Board Chair