The IDEA Website: What You Need to Know
DEC members have been asking about the status of the federal website that was created after the last reauthorization as a one-stop place for information and resources on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
Yesterday evening, the Division for Early Childhood Executive Office received this statement from the Department of Education:
“On Wednesday, February 8, 2017 the server hosting IDEA.ed.gov crashed. The U.S. Department of Education has not removed the IDEA.ed.gov website. Within the same day, the site was redirected to a new page containing pertinent information relating to IDEA. The Department recognizes the concerns you have with the outage and is working on a long-term solution. The server was managed by a contractor, the Department is currently working to move the site and all files to a new stable host.
As we continue to work with our contractors to bring the site back online, please refer to the following IDEA resources:
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services Individuals with Disabilities Education Act webpage: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/osep/osep-idea.html
This site provides links to the IDEA Statute, Part B IDEA Regulations, Part C IDEA Regulations, OSEP Memos, Dear Colleague Letters, and OSEP Policy Letters, IDEAs That Work (resources relevant to OSEPS research to practice efforts), and GRADS 360 (resources on IDEA State Performance Plans and Annual Performance Reports).
Center for Parent Information and Resources: www.parentcenterhub.org
The Center for Parent Information and Resources is an OSERS Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)-funded site that provides resources for parents and Parent Centers."
Expressing concern about the unavailability of the IDEA site, Senators Patty Murray (WA), and Maria Cantwell (WA) sent a letter to Secretary Betsy DeVos last week asking for a detailed plan for restoring the information. The letter states that “The Department’s failure to keep this critical resource operational makes it harder for parents, educators, and administrators to find the resources they need to implement this federal law and protect the rights of children with disabilities.”
In addition, the Senators indicated that they are “seeking a detailed explanation for the disappearance of these centralized resources, and the plan to restore this critical information.”
DEC joins the senators in their positions on the need to maintain all the important resources on IDEA and ensure that any previously accessible resources that may be currently unavailable be restored and re-posted.
The DEC Executive Office and Policy and Advocacy Team are monitoring this situation and will keep you informed as new information becomes available.
