Taking Action to Respond to Cuts to the U.S. Department of Education

At a recent webinar hosted by the Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness (JVIB), “IDEA at 50: Celebrating Progress in the Blindness Field and Beyond,” six experts in the blindness field, some of whom are also parents of students with disabilities, explained how federal oversight provided by the U.S. Department of Education remains important to students with disabilities, their families, their teachers, and their schools. This gathering on the importance of advocacy and the success of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) followed the announcement that many programs that support the education of children with disabilities will move from the Department of Education to the Department of Health and Human Services.

As the school year is underway, educators and students may begin to notice changes in funding, technical assistance, and complaint reporting. To address these potential changes, the presenters shared three important steps that concerned parents and caregivers, advocates and organizations can take to make their voices heard:

1. Communicate with state governors and attorneys general,
2. Communicate with Congress and the White House, and
3. File complaints with the Office for Civil Rights.

Concerned individuals and organizations can access details about how to accomplish these three tasks, as well as learn more about the Department of Education restructuring, in the “Amplification Toolkit: IDEA at 50 Celebrating Progress in the Blindness Field and Beyond.” Your voices matter, and speaking up can help remind and influence policymakers to ensure that critical federal laws and programs are fully resourced and accessible to the students who need them.

To learn even more about this issue, watch the IDEA at 50 webinar and read the JVIB Comment on which the webinar was based: “A Remarkable Journey: Fifty Years of Progress for the U.S. Department of Education and People Who Are Blind, Have Low Vision, or Are Deafblind, and Their Families.” The webinar featured the voices of authors Stacy M. Kelly, Holly Lawson, Amy T. Parker, Frances Mary D’Andrea, Lanya Elsa, and Sean Tikkun.