Is Special Education at Risk?

Article by Patrick Grant

The Trump administration recently issued an executive order that called for the elimination of the Department of Education.⁽¹⁾ Constitutional experts agree that this is not a power that the President actually possesses, but Congress has largely ceded its authority on presidential overreach as of late, so it would not be wise to disregard the potential threat of this agenda. The Department of Education does not actually set education curriculums, which are controlled at the state and local level. Most of the Department of Education’s role is instead to allow equal access to education for all students, including those with disabilities, by distributing funds and utilizing the Office of Civil Rights to enforce federal anti-discrimination law,⁽²⁾⁽³⁾ including Section 504.

Section 504 is a 1973 federal law meant to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities, specifically in environments that receive funding from the Department of Education. Similarly, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was passed in 1975 to provide funds to ensure children with disabilities could receive an education, as only 1 in 5 children with disabilities were enrolled in public school in 1970, and many state laws pertaining to education specifically excluded such children.⁽⁵⁾ Together, these laws are meant to allow disabled children equal access to education and freedom from discrimination at school. However, Section 504 and IDEA are also under the provision of the Department of Education, so their futures are uncertain…