Washington, D.C.– The Center for Learner Equity (CLE) vehemently objects to moving the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In response to President Trump’s recent declaration, CLE reiterates that the current administration continues to overstep constitutional authority. Congress codified in law that the IDEA is administered by the U.S. Department of Education; therefore Congress is the only appropriate authority for such a decision.
“Moving the IDEA to HHS is bad policy. The local equivalent would be consolidating a local public school district under the leadership of the local hospital system,” said Jennifer Coco, Interim Executive Director of CLE. “The IDEA is neither medical nor clinical. Education and health systems speak in entirely different languages, with variations in terminology, training, and disciplines. There is simply no place for an education program in a bureaucracy built for healthcare administration. CLE rebukes President Trump’s ill-conceived declaration, and urges Congress to ensure the education of students with disabilities remains with the educators.”
Specifically, the IDEA recognizes 13 broad categories of disability that are explicitly defined by a child’s unique learning needs in school. The IDEA cannot be extracted from the other education and career training statutes overseen and implemented by ED—Congress intentionally and deliberately aligned these laws in partnership with educators and disability advocates. This ensures the IDEA’s special education services are designed for learning and success in school.
There are 8 million students with disabilities who benefit from IDEA programs and services, learning alongside their peers in schools. Across the nation, more than two-thirds of K-12 students with disabilities are learning in regular classrooms under the instruction of general education teachers. To pathologize the identity of 8 million children based on their unique learning needs will only lead to further exclusion and further from grade-level learning and achievement.
For further information on CLE’s response to this administration’s recent efforts to dismantle the Department, see previous press statements here.
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