John,
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the law that governs special education in public schools. But with Trump dismantling the Department of Education, he’s simultaneously attacking special education in our schools.
Before IDEA became law, 1.8 million children with special needs were denied access to public education; now 7.6 million children receive special education and related services and can dream about their futures.1 Now that access―and the very rights of students―is at risk. At the beginning of his administration, Donald Trump gutted the Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Education by cutting its staff in half and closing 7 of the 12 regional offices. Most of the complaints lodged with the office involved disability and sex-based discrimination.2
The attacks on special education are egregious and must be stopped.
Donate $5 to power our campaign to defend special education in our schools and the millions of students and families who rely on it.
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This administration's plans to break off pieces and programs under the Department of Education's purview and ship them to other federal agencies are unacceptable. One of the plans includes sending special education programs to the Department of Health and Human Services, thereby removing them from the supervision of education experts.3
There was a reason the Department of Education and IDEA were created in the first place. The dismantling of the Department of Education will only ensure that vulnerable students won’t get the help and support they need.
Donate $5 today to help us advocate for education access for all children and teens. As the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act turns 50, we can’t go backwards to a time when students with special needs were not guaranteed equal access to education.
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Thank you for all you do,
Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs
1 The Top 5 Ways the Congressional Republicans’ Budget Reconciliation Bill Will Harm Disabled Students
2 The Trump Administration’s Latest Staffing Cuts at the Department of Education Threaten Children’s Success Across the Country
3 Recent Actions by the Trump Administration Target Children with Disabilities
