Protecting Education for Children with Disabilities

Floor Speech

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Ms. BROWN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Congresswoman Hayes, for hosting this Special Order Hour and for her leadership on this critical issue.

Mr. Speaker, 50 years ago Congress passed the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, because America rejected exclusion and finally recognized a simple truth: Every child, regardless of ability, deserves to learn, grow, and succeed.

Yet, today, that promise is under attack. Disabled students are more vulnerable than ever, facing threats to their funding, their services, and the Federal protections that make equal education possible.

At the same time, this administration is laying off the very civil servants whose job it is to protect those children and enforce the law. When you cut special education funding, cut the Department of Education, and cut the staff, no one can speak out for the children who need these programs the most--children like my nephew RJ, who was born premature and has dealt with developmental delays all his life. His condition requires special care and attention. He didn't choose to be disabled or to have additional needs, but he is made in God's image, and he deserves every opportunity to reach his full potential.

Because of programs established by IDEA, children like RJ can access the same educational assistance and support that other students enjoy. I think that is a good thing. I think that is what should make America America, but this White House disagrees.

The Trump administration believes that the rights and opportunities available to students like RJ can and should be limited. They have spun abandoning programs as efficiency and told us that they are cutting waste and saving you money.

What it really is and what it really costs is paid for by underserved students and their families, because without the protections and funding provided by IDEA, more students are left behind. Without federally supported services that help with early detection, children are less able to navigate a world that wasn't built for them.

IDEA doesn't provide special treatment. It provides children with fair and inclusive treatment, and it doesn't waste Federal resources. It breaks through the barriers that children with disabilities face and levels the playing field.

Today, that lifeline for children with disabilities is under threat. In my own State, nearly one in five students have disabilities. That is more than a quarter million children in Ohio who rely on IDEA programs to get the education they need and deserve.

I have one question today: How exactly does gutting special education programs and staffing make America great? It doesn't. We should be strengthening IDEA, not weakening it. We should be protecting civil rights, not gutting them. We should be recommitting our promise to every child, not pulling out the rug.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, a true champion in the education space, for the leadership she has demonstrated on this critical and, yes, personal issue to me.

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