So Devos flubs her answer on IDEA, now IDEA website down

But the rest of the the ED.gov website seems to work.


LINK /
Ed.gov

If you're unfamiliar with IDEA here's what it does

quote:

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The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a four-part (A-D) piece of American legislation that ensures students with a disability are provided with Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) that is tailored to their individual needs.

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I'm sure I don't need to explain why school choice doesn't necessarily solve this problem, but it's worth noting that as the above blurb suggests, this doesn't apply to private school.

For those who recall, Tim Kaine, who held rallies small enough to fit in a mid sized car, tricked her into revealing that she doesn't know much about the law, and tried to explain the basics of how federal law works, and while he may have had a fun moment speaking in front of a double digit crowd, I think he missed something in Devos' answer.

She spoke of letting states manage their responsibilities to kids with IDD themselves.

Here's what that means in Texas.

quote:

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A CHRONICLE INVESTIGATION

Denied:
How Texas keeps tens of thousands of children out of special education

Story by: Brian M. Rosenthal

Photos by: Marie D. De Jesús

Roanin Walker waits for some sprinklers to shower him during a hot day on the front yard of his family’s Kingwood home in July 2016.

During the first week of school at Shadow Forest Elementary, a frail kindergartner named Roanin Walker had a meltdown at recess. Overwhelmed by the shrieking and giggling, he hid by the swings and then tried to escape the playground, hitting a classmate and biting a teacher before being restrained.

The principal called Roanin's mother.

"There's been an incident."

Heidi Walker was frightened, but as she hurried to the Humble school that day in 2014, she felt strangely relieved.

She had warned school administrators months earlier that her 5-year-old had been diagnosed with a disability similar to autism. Now they would understand, she thought. Surely they would give him the therapy and counseling he needed.

Walker knew the law was on her side. Since 1975, Congress has required public schools in the United States to provide specialized education services to all eligible children with any type of disability.

But what she didn't know is that in Texas, unelected state officials have quietly devised a system that has kept thousands of disabled kids like Roanin out of special education.

A Chronicle Investigation

In Texas, unelected state officials have devised a system that has kept thousands of disabled kids out of special education. Read other installments in the series here.


Explainer: How we know the reason for the drop in Texas special ed students
Over a decade ago, the officials arbitrarily decided what percentage of students should get special education services — 8.5 percent — and since then they have forced school districts to comply by strictly auditing those serving too many kids.

Their efforts, which started in 2004 but have never been publicly announced or explained, have saved the Texas Education Agency billions of dollars but denied vital supports to children with autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, epilepsy, mental illnesses, speech impediments, traumatic brain injuries, even blindness and deafness, a Houston Chronicle investigation has found.

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LINK /


We're at a crossroads for kids with an IDD. I'm not a fan of appointing someone who openly admits to funding congressional races and expecting something in return, but even putting that obvious cronyism aside, her hearings and now the unexplained removal of the IDEA website do not bode well. Welcome to the future.