By Lateefah S. Williams, Esq.
Will special education services and protections be kicked out of the U.S. Department of Education? If Linda McMahon, President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education, has her way, then the answer is yes. Big changes could be in the works at the Department of Education when it comes to students with disabilities and many are not pleased.
McMahon stated openly in her confirmation hearings that she really wants a big overhaul of the Education Department. Trump, on the other hand, wants to erase it from the budget altogether. However, McMahon, who has no background in education, has suggested a more distant change, with the gradual transfer of special education oversight to another authority, rumored to be the U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS is headed by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who doesn’t have any education experience, either.
Why does that matter? If special education funds fall within the purview of the Education Department, where there are career staffers who understand special education laws, there is an exponentially better chance that all eligible children will receive the necessary assistance under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which importance cannot be overstated. However, if the Department no longer provides the states with funding to ensure schools comply with federal laws protecting student rights, it is likely that no one would be there to fulfill this role. So again, the question that no one can answer is, what will actually happen to disability rights and legal protections if IDEA goes under HHS?
Great Concerns, Vague Answers
The willingness to work things out with IDEA should be left to the Education Department. McMahon would not develop a feasible plan. Among her ideas is transferring the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, which investigates discrimination in schools, to the Justice Department. This would dilute the protections available to students with disabilities in line with the present administration’s agenda to downsize governmental agencies.
Moving special education oversight from the Department of Education means transferring all functions to an agency that is not focused on education. Does that really benefit students with disabilities? What it actually entails is that millions of such students will not receive special services in their own state to ease the transition from school to the workforce or college.
McMahon’s confirmation hasn’t ended the debate. Will she follow up on her pledge regarding moving special education oversight to another agency? And, if she follows through, what does it mean for students, families, and educators? The destiny of special education in America is in the balance.
What Special Education Attorneys Can Do: They create an environment of calling out loopholes to ensure that special education students continue to receive the services and protections they are entitled to under the law.
Some of the main jobs that special education attorneys perform are:
Represent families attending IEP meetings – Individual education program (IEP) Teams are formed schools to attend the IEP meeting and reach a conclusion regarding the level and types of aid the student will receive. Attorneys representing the families play a major role in ensuring the best outcome is reached for the student.
File state complaints – Subject to its obligations under IDEA, if a local school district fails to provide appropriate services, then an attorney can submit a formal complaint to the state education agency and demand corrective action.
Conduct due process hearings – When issues become contentious on whether special education services are being adequately provided and the school system refuses to do anymore, attorneys are then able to represent families at due process hearings concerning these matters.
At the end of the day, anything that happens at the federal level will still depend on the exercise of rights by parents under IDEA, and that makes special education lawyers very relevant in enforcing these rights. As change happens, special education attorney’s role in protecting students with disabilities will become even more important.
If you need a special education attorney to assist you, contact us at Shefter Law, P.A. at (301) 605-7303 and book a case analysis for free.
