In September of 2018, the Trump Administration released a new framework for the special education department, which is designed to give a new thought process to the way the department works.
The framework is a promise from the Education Department’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services to “rethink anything and everything.” Assistant Secretary Johnny Collett is the one who released the new framework, giving insights of the goals of the program.
“‘Rethink’ means everyone questions everything to ensure nothing limits any student from being prepared for what comes next. That begins with acknowledging the unique needs of each child and then finding the best ways to prepare each individual for successful careers and a meaningful life,” Collett said in his blog post about the new framework.
To sum up the framework, local decision making is prioritized over federally mandated action in the department. “Our goal is to provide them with as much flexibility and support as possible so that they can ensure their students’ needs are being met,” Collett wrote.
Here’s the concern: what this new framework can do is eliminate the inclusion that is mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which has been one of the most impactful bipartisan-supported bill by the federal government.
The law states: “All children with disabilities residing in the State, including children with disabilities who are homeless children or are wards of the State and children with disabilities attending private schools, regardless of the severity of their disabilities, and who are in need of special education and related services, are identified, located, and evaluated and a practical method is developed and implemented to determine which children with disabilities are currently receiving needed special education and related services.”
This versus the new framework sound very similar. The difference lies in who has the power and how that will affect the individual child in the end. There are concerns that this distribution of power can cause issues. Power given to those who haven’t studied a topic and dedicated their career to it can be hazardous.
It’s a difficult subject to grasp, without knowing what will really happen over time. On the same blog post, many parents and guardians have left comments sharing their concerns. There are many more concerns than praise.
When it comes to students who are studying education here at Cabrini, there are questions about this new framework as well. Diana Whittaker, junior double major in early childhood education pre-k to 4 and special ed pre-k to 8, says the framework potentially is a good idea, if it goes well. She has concerns about it going south too.
“Giving locals the power versus federal power over their education system can cause dangers of locals focusing on what they believe is the most important issues in the education system. This can lead to biases and unbalanced funding spending,” Whittaker said.
It’s concerning to Whittaker that obviously, many parents believe they know what’s best for their child, but there are clearly those working that have spent years studying the education system and knowing what’s best for the students.
“There is a large percentage of parents [and] guardians who have educated themselves well enough to decide the fate of their child’s IEP (Individual Education Program). With that being said, not all parents have [sought] out the knowledge to know what can help fully benefit their child.”
The Trump administration does not specialize in special education. Without being involved in the process, it can be difficult to analyze it properly. Amongst the concern of parents, guardians and future educators, we know that only time will tell.
