As reported by National Public Radio and other sources, it appears that the provision for the Department of Education to allow IDEA waivers to states passed along with the very needed resources to help individuals, families, businesses, etc. in the CARES act.
This provision might seem like a fail, but the collective voices of our organizations have already and will continue to make a difference. There has been influential communication with the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services and we have to hope that there is still opportunity to uphold the rights of the students that we serve.
Excerpt from NPR: Buried within a proposal put forth Thursday by U.S. Senate Republicans is a provision directing Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to prepare a report to Congress outlining any special education obligations that she thinks school districts should be temporarily freed from. The report, which would be due within 30 days, should have "recommendations on any additional waivers the secretary believes are necessary to be enacted into law under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to provide limited flexibility to states and local educational agencies to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities during the emergency," the bill states. The measure would not itself make any changes to IDEA, but in an unprecedented move, it does open the door to the notion of watering down the hallmark special education law, advocates said.
I would like to thank the American Foundation for the Blind for taking the lead in both alerting us to the threats, providing facts and guiding us in making our voices heard. I suspect there will be more opportunity to influence the process and the final report issued by the Department of Education. COSB, AER, ACB, NFB, VSA, CEC and so many other organizations will continue to work together to make sure DOE and each state is doing its best under the circumstances.
Stay healthy,
Paul H. Olson-President of the Council of Schools and Services for the Blind
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As reported by National Public Radio and other sources, it appears that the provision for the Department of Education to allow IDEA waivers to states passed along with the very needed resources to help individuals, families, businesses, etc. in the CARES act.
This provision might seem like a fail, but the collective voices of our organizations have already and will continue to make a difference. There has been influential communication with the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services and we have to hope that there is still opportunity to uphold the rights of the students that we serve.
Excerpt from NPR: Buried within a proposal put forth Thursday by U.S. Senate Republicans is a provision directing Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to prepare a report to Congress outlining any special education obligations that she thinks school districts should be temporarily freed from. The report, which would be due within 30 days, should have "recommendations on any additional waivers the secretary believes are necessary to be enacted into law under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to provide limited flexibility to states and local educational agencies to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities during the emergency," the bill states. The measure would not itself make any changes to IDEA, but in an unprecedented move, it does open the door to the notion of watering down the hallmark special education law, advocates said.
I would like to thank the American Foundation for the Blind for taking the lead in both alerting us to the threats, providing facts and guiding us in making our voices heard. I suspect there will be more opportunity to influence the process and the final report issued by the Department of Education. COSB, AER, ACB, NFB, VSA, CEC and so many other organizations will continue to work together to make sure DOE and each state is doing its best under the circumstances.
Stay healthy,
Paul H. Olson-President of the Council of Schools and Services for the Blind
[logo]
