Call to Action: Protect the Promise of IDEA
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
Congress is making decisions now that could affect infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities, their families, and the professionals who support them.
Three things you can ask Congress to do:
1. Fund ALL parts of IDEA and preserve dedicated funding for IDEA Preschool and Part D Grants.
The Administration's FY 2027 budget proposes increases for IDEA Part C and Part B Grants to States, but eliminates dedicated funding for the IDEA Preschool Program and Part D National Activities.
Those programs support:
Preschool special education
Personnel preparation and development
Technical assistance
Technology
Parent and family supports
Dedicated funding for IDEA Preschool Grants helps ensure that young children ages 3–5 with disabilities remain a clear federal priority. Without dedicated preschool funding, early childhood special education must compete for resources within the broader IDEA Part B funding stream. Being allowed to spend IDEA funds on preschool services is not the same as ensuring that funding is specifically set aside for young children with disabilities.
Ask Congress to fund all parts of IDEA without cuts and preserve dedicated funding for IDEA Preschool Grants.
2. Keep special education in the Department of Education.
IDEA is an education law. Special education exists to ensure that children with disabilities receive an appropriate education, have access to learning opportunities, and get the individualized services and supports they need to make progress.
Keeping Special Education within the Department of Education:
Focuses on children learning and making progress. IDEA helps ensure that children with disabilities learn alongside their peers, have access to the same learning opportunities, receive the individual supports and services they need, and make meaningful educational progress.
Ensures that specialized IDEA expertise is connected to the people and systems carrying it out. Special education provides guidance, technical assistance, monitoring, and support to states as they put IDEA into practice.
Protects the educational rights of children with disabilities. IDEA is more than a funding program. It establishes important protections for how children with disabilities learn with their peers and have access to the same learning opportunities, receive the individual supports and services they need, and make meaningful educational progress.
Ask Congress to keep Special Education in the U.S. Department of Education and protect the federal education expertise and support that help make IDEA work for children and families.
3. Keep public funds in public schools.
A new federal tax-credit program would allow taxpayers to direct up to $1,700 of their federal tax liability to scholarship-granting organizations, creating a national pathway for public dollars to support private education. For children with disabilities, where those dollars go matters.
Public schools have responsibilities to serve children with disabilities that private schools may not share in the same way. Keeping public funds in public schools:
Protects resources for schools that serve all children. Public schools must educate children with disabilities and provide the special education and related services required under IDEA.
Protects IDEA rights and services. Children placed by their families in private schools do not have the same individual right to special education and related services under IDEA as children enrolled in public schools.
Supports strong local schools. When public dollars are redirected to private education, fewer resources may be available to the public schools responsible for providing special education services and supports.
Ask Congress to support and protect public resources for the public schools responsible for educating children with disabilities.
Take Action Now!
Contact Congressional Members. Urge them to protect the federal investment and supports for young children with disabilities.
Call Congress at the U.S. Capitol Switchboard 202-224-3121.
Visit Senate.gov and House.gov.
Use CEC’s Legislative Action Center to contact your Member of Congress now!
Access the Social Media Toolkit to share the call to action with your network.
For additional information, you can also explore DEC's Policy & Advocacy News Hub.
Your voice can help protect the promise of IDEA for children and families.
Reminder: Your representatives are home until the end of August. Your senators are home for several weeks after that. Use this information for both and keep reaching out!
Thank you for all you do each and every day! Thank you for adding these activities to your daily support of young children, their families, and the professionals who serve them.
With gratitude,
Peggy Kemp
Executive Director
