1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

I am the mother of a 3 year old with disabilities and I am so deeply concerned on her behalf at what is happening with The Department of Education. I am so concerned that her right to access public, free education as a child with special needs is in serious jeopardy. The illegal freezing of more than $6 billion in federal K-12 education funds is very concerning to me, because without this essential and congressionally approved funding, districts cannot hire educators and support staff, special education and mental health services are disrupted, and rural and low-income schools are left without basic resources. My child is one of the people who will be affected by this, because she is now eligible to participate in public preschool offered by the school district for children with disabilities and the fact that money is being withheld to support critical programs to her wellbeing fills me with disgust. Congress needs to assert their constitutional authority and demand the immediate release of all frozen federal education funds. I also must insist as a constituent that the dismantling of the Department of Education not be permitted to take place. For the same reasons above, the lack of federal oversight to ensure that IDEA Act is followed and that children with disabilities have access to free, public schooling commensurate with their peers, is frightening to me. Underfunding public education hurts all of us, as does removing any sense of federal accountability for public education of special needs children. It’s cruel, shortsighted, and irresponsible, and it harms some of our most vulnerable Americans: young people with disabilities. It harms my child. As a constituent in Spokane County, I cannot state strongly enough just how much I want my voice to be heard at the national level, from the mouths of the representatives who claim to represent my needs as a parent and an American.