Saving Special Ed-Maybe?

 Saving Special Ed-Well, Maybe

In July, a bipartisan group of US Senators pushed a bill (SB5046) through a Senate committee.  The Secretary of Education and the Trump administration are working to dismantle the US Department of Education.  That can’t be done straight away because the Department was created by Congress and can only be eliminated by Congress.  However, the Education Secretary is working at death by a thousand cuts. Mostly what she is doing is entering into agreements with various other federal agencies to take over the functions of the Department of Education.  For example, the section that does Career Education has been transferred to the Department of Labor by one of these agreements.

SB5046 would keep the Office of Special Education and Rehab Services (OSERS) within the Department of Education.  Advocates for the civil rights of children with disabilities were already very concerned that their function was being transferred to the Department of Justice where it would be very low priority.  Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) were the co-sponsors of the bill.  Interestingly, both Collins and Murkowski are in very tough reelection campaigns.  

The Bill was introduced on the Senate Floor on August 4.  It has not moved since then.  The Congress did state in the most recent passed spending bill that the Department of Education had no authority to transfer these programs.  BUT the language is non-binding so the Department of Education was free to keep on making agreements to transfer programs which it has continued to do.

What difference does this make to the kids with disabilities who may be living in your house or in your family?  Turns out lot of difference.  If a local school district doesn’t do right by a child, the appeal is to the state department of education.  However, the State Department of Education and the local school system are arms of the same animal.  So if a family doesn’t like the result, they have no administrative, no cost appeal.   It’s off to court, if you can afford counsel.