1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

As your constituent, I urge you to protect the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and special education by making sure the Department of Education continues to have oversight of these programs. IDEA, which was enacted 50 years ago, is an education and civil rights law that ensures that children and youth with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. Federal law establishes an Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), which is inclusive of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA). Before IDEA and OSERS, most public schools excluded children and youth with disabilities. They were shunted to state institutions that provided only basic care, without the opportunity to realize their potential. We must not return to that time—but we could, if the Trump administration succeeds in moving IDEA to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The plan would threaten the progress we’ve made in viewing disability as a natural part of the human condition and not a medical problem that needs to be fixed. It would take the focus off teaching and learning and shift it to providing medical or social services to students. HHS is a large department that oversees public health and human services but has no expertise in the complex education law that is IDEA. Education law specialists, program officers, and data analysts within the office of special education programs are uniquely trained for this work. Transferring these functions to HHS means a significant loss in institutional expertise that can’t be rebuilt quickly, if at all. Please protect educational opportunities for students with disabilities by saying NO to the administration’s plan to move IDEA out of the Department of Education.