In Seattle alone, 13% of kids in the school district receive special education services. Across Washington state, 143,000 students receive special education or related services, which includes students on IEPs. Even in 2023, the amount of funding received by schools was not enough to cover the needs of all kids receiving special education services.
Meanwhile, ongoing policy and government action puts equitable access to education at risk. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), “which ensures all children with disabilities have access to a free appropriate public education” (including those with disabilities such as ADHD, autism, and more), could be impacted if the DoE faces cuts or is dismantled.
This article from ADDitude Magazine details the impacts and risks well, but the tl;dr is that the DoE serves as the enforcement entity for IEP and 504 plans. If the DoE is dismantled and enforcement of the laws if handled by the DoJ, a lot of uncertainty remains about how this would be done so. In the meantime, 17 states are suing to end protections for disabled students and declare Section 504 unconstitutional.
This is a huge, scary deal for 13% of Seattle’s children– and one that could have an impact sooner than expected. We have seen preemptive compliance on federal anti-trans policy by local hospitals for example. Please tell anyone and everyone you know. People aren’t talking about it, but it is a huge deal. If your WA state representative is republican, please reach out to them. Reach out to the democrat ones, too.
People think disability is rare, sometimes people think “eh, it will only impact a few people”. 13%, folks.
submitted by /u/disgruntledjobseeker
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