From Access to Advocacy: The Ongoing Importance of IDEA

Most of us currently living grew up in an era when access to public education is the norm. And for many of us, our schools included kids with disabilities and learning disorders. So, we may take for granted that all students have access to our schools.

Of course, this wasn’t always the case. Before 1975, access to education was inconsistent across the country. With the enactment of what eventually became the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), children with disabilities and their families were guaranteed the right to an education and access to appropriate services.

For over fifty years, the IDEA has been reauthorized and strengthened many times. Starting in 1979, the US Department of Education took over the IDEA, ensuring that states and school districts are held to the same standards across the country. IDEA funds services to about 8 million children per year.

But the IDEA has been in a state of uncertainty for the past year as offices and divisions of the Department of Education have been moved into other federal agencies. The plan has been to move special education as well. However, after hearing from families and advocates about the need for special education programs, Congress recently included language in their spending bill to protect IDEA programs along with several other important programs for people with disabilities.

Our local southwest Colorado communities benefit directly from the IDEA. The benefit most people are familiar with are special education classes within our schools. There, the IDEA assures that kids with disabilities have their specific needs defined and addressed through their Individualized Education Plan (IEP). It also ensures that students with disabilities are included in classrooms and school activities to the greatest extent possible.

To support these programs, the IDEA also provides things like teacher training, technical assistance to schools, assistive technology for students, and empowerment for parents. It includes Child Find, a program designed to ensure that kids who need supports are identified as early in their educational process as possible.

But the IDEA does more. Educational support and preparation start well before school does. Early intervention services through Community Connections are funded through the IDEA and support kids birth to three with professional support for developmental milestones like talking, walking, and socializing with others.

The IDEA also supports preschool services for kids with delays and disabilities. These services are provided by Durango 9-R school district or San Juan Board of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES), depending on where the child lives. 9-R and BOCES are also responsible for school programming up to the age of 21.

Without the IDEA and its funding, these local programs wouldn’t exist. Although states contribute their own funds, the partnership with the federal government is essential to sustain them.

The recent win with Congress may be short-lived. Advocates are paying close attention to Congressional committees’ attempts to open up the IDEA for debate. The fight’s not over, but family voices are being heard at the Capitol, and IDEA continues strong for now.