Donald Trump: Let’s get rid of regulations. Betsy DeVos: Okay, how about these 72 documents giving guidance on the rights of students with disabilities?
Predictably, the DeVos-led Education Department insisted that the 72 were rescinded because they were “outdated, unnecessary, or ineffective.” Things like this:
The special education guidance documents rescinded this month clarified the rights of disabled students in a number of areas, including making clear how schools could spend federal money set aside for special education. Some, such as one titled “Questions and Answers on Serving Children with Disabilities Placed by Their Parents at Private Schools,” translated the legal jargon into plain English for parents advocating for their children. Some of the guidance documents that were cut had been on the books since 1980s.
Outdated, unnecessary, or ineffective … or important policy yanked away by an education secretary who showed at her confirmation hearing that she either didn’t understand that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is a federal law or didn’t understand what “federal law” means?
Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-Va.) called the elimination of the special education guidance “the latest in a series of disturbing actions taken by the Trump Administration to undermine civil rights for vulnerable Americans.”
“Much of the guidance around [the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act] focused on critical clarifications of the regulations required to meet the needs of students with disabilities and provide them a free, appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment,” Scott said in a statement. “Notwithstanding the actions taken by the Department today, the regulations still remained enforced; however they lack the clarification the guidance provided.”
Don’t expect this to be Betsy DeVos’ last attack on students with disabilities.