Promoting, Dignity, Equality and Self-Determination

Washington Protection & Advocacy System

Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama) has introduced two amendments that would diminish the effectiveness of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The amendments would grant school officials expanded authority to remove students with disabilities from an integrated classroom setting. Senator Christopher Bond (R-Missouri) is planning to introduce a similar amendment.

IDEA has been around since 1975, and the concept of the law is simple. People with disabilities are entitled to a free, appropriate education just like everyone else. When Congress appropriates funds for IDEA, they are giving money to the states to help them provide that free, appropriate education. Unfortunately, IDEA has never been fully funded – Congress has never authorized all the funds needed to make sure that people with disabilities have the same access to education that others do. This year, however, ten Senators (five Republicans and five Democrats) introduced a bill requiring that the federal government provide full funding for IDEA. Subsequently, 40 members of the House of Representatives introduced a similar bill. People with disabilities and advocate groups were excited about the possibility of IDEA finally being fully realized.

But then came Senators Sessions and Bond. One of the new amendments would give state or local education agencies the authority to establish uniform discipline policies for all students. If this amendment were to become law, students with disabilities could more easily be removed from an integrated classroom and placed in alternative settings, or be expelled from school.

The second amendment would expand the discipline provisions of IDEA to include "threats," a term that is subject to broad interpretation and could allow school officials to segregate and/or remove students who they believe to be "difficult." Either amendment would significantly expand the circumstances under which students with disabilities could be removed from their educational setting.

Students with disabilities and/or their parents or guardians are often faced with difficult battles with school administrators when requesting that the student receive an education in an integrated setting. School districts often feel they are forced to place students with special needs in segregated settings because it is cheaper for the district to do so. This practice shortchanges students with disabilities and rarely provides an education comparable to that received in an integrated classroom. Students with disabilities in segregated settings often suffer because of lower expectations by school officials and teachers. Moreover, students are given the message that they are not fit to be with students without disabilities. Consequently, the educational experience for these students fails to be as rich and diverse as the education received by students in an integrated setting.

These two amendments have not yet become law. Your Senators or Member of Congress need to know how you feel about this issue. It’s easy to find out who represents you – just go to www.congress.org, enter your zip code in the box underneath "Elected Officials," and you will be given information about your representatives, including how to contact them. A hint -- letters and phone calls are usually more effective than e-mails.

Learn more about your right to a free, appropriate education. Try these links.

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Washington Protection & Advocacy System
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