DeVos Declines to Use Senate COVID-19 Relief Bill to Weaken Protections for Students With Disabilities
Editor's Note
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Update: On April 28, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced she will not recommend any waivers to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The CARES Act, the major COVID-19 relief bill Congress passed, included a provision that allowed DeVos to evaluate weakening protections for kids with disabilities to provide relief to schools as they navigate COVID-19. However, DeVos has elected not to ask for changes to laws designed to support students with disabilities. “While the Department has provided extensive flexibility to help schools transition, there is no reason for Congress to waive any provision designed to keep students learning,” DeVos said in a statement, according to NPR.
As Congress debates its next move to provide economic relief in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, one item in the Senate’s latest proposal has caused disability advocates alarm: a provision that could exempt schools from its legal duty to provide an accessible education to students with disabilities.
On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) introduced a “phase 3” stimulus proposal to the U.S. to mitigate the economic fallout of COVID-19, a new-to-humans respiratory virus that has so far infected more than 15,000 Americans. The proposed package, which has yet to be voted on by the full Senate or the House of Republicans, most famously includes sending stimulus checks to American families earning less than $75,000 a year.
There are many other proposals in the bill, including one that could impact people with disabilities. Page 230 of the proposed $1 trillion economic relief package calls for an evaluation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 within 30 days of the bill’s passage. Section 504 and IDEA were signed into law to guarantee students with disabilities equal access to an education in schools and prevent discrimination.
As written, the bill doesn’t automatically cut resources for education for students with disabilities. It does allow U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to evaluate if requirements under IDEA and section 504 can be loosened “to provide limited flexibility” to schools in the wake of COVID-19. Any such waivers, however, could roll back critical education protections for students with disabilities. Disability advocates rallied around the hashtag #NotThatIDEA on Twitter to call out the proposal.
Ive stopped watching the #WhiteHouseBriefing. Right now I’m deeply concerned abt the Senate #CoronaVirus relief bill, that avoids giving money 2 the most needy & takes away IDEA protections. Plz call ur representatives/senators 2 let them know this is unacceptable. #NotThatIDEA https://t.co/cvSeBCUaXl
— SeeMiaSubmitCensus ???? (@SeeMiaRoll) March 20, 2020
As of 2018, 7 mil. students in public schools receive special ed services via the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. As schools adapt to CORVID-19 we need a plan for disabled students to maintain equal access. Meanwhile the GOP wants to waive these reqs. #NotThatIDEA
— CAP K-12 Education (@EdProgress) March 20, 2020
The bill released by Senator McConnell— the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act—falls short of the provisions the disability community needs & deserves during this pandemic. This leaves them vulnerable. https://t.co/eqZgGHxiV7#notthatIDEA #Covid19LDSupport pic.twitter.com/poceQl2lxS
— NCLD (@ncldorg) March 20, 2020
We need to support students with disabilities throughout this crisis. #NotThatIDEA
— Disability Rights Pa (@drnpa) March 20, 2020
Ughhhhhhhh. We should not be rolling back civil rights of students w disabilities! #NotThatIDEA https://t.co/JCDGdPHkFC
— Dr. Anjali F-P (@anjalifp) March 20, 2020
On March 13, the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) outlined in a COVID-19 fact sheet that schools must continue to provide students with disabilities an education as long as schools are providing services to other students, whether that’s online or through other alternative methods. If a school is completely closed and not serving any students, those schools do not have to provide students with disabilities an education during the closure.
McConnell’s proposed relief package has yet to be passed in the Senate or debated in the House of Representatives. Likely the bill will change as Congress hashes out the details before it is signed into law by President Donald Trump. Disability advocates are urging others to contact their representatives to strike the IDEA provision from the proposed bill to protect students with disabilities.
“Now, more than ever, your voices matter – we MUST be loud, resolute, and uncompromising in the need to protect these important education rights,” wrote Disability Rights Florida on Twitter. “Send your Senators and Representative an email now!”
Now, more than ever, your voices matter – we MUST be loud, resolute, and uncompromising in the need to protect these important education rights.
Send your Senators and Representative an email now! #SWD #NotThatIDEA @NRDNadvocates https://t.co/WM33A6tjTg
— Disability Rights FL (@DisabilityRtsFL) March 20, 2020
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Renée Fabian was the features editor at The Mighty. She has also written for The Washington Post, VICE, Healthline, Talkspace, The Fix, The Establishment, The Culture Trip, and GRAMMY.com, among others. Renée was named a 2019 AHCJ Comparative Effectiveness Research fellow, a 2020 USC Center for Health Journalism California fellow, and holds a master's degree in journalism from the University of Southern California and a master's degree in psychology from Antioch University Los Angeles. You can follow her on Twitter @ryfabian.
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