WASHINGTON — This week, the National Education Association (NEA) commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) – the landmark legislation that guarantees students with disabilities the right to a free and appropriate public education.
“Fifty years ago, with the passage of IDEA, America made a promise to students with disabilities and their families – that they would be able to participate fully in learning and reach their potential,” said NEA President Becky Pringle.
In the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the Department of Education (ED), it has cut more than 1,400 employees and proposed that IDEA be managed by the Health and Human Services (HHS) agency, which has no experience protecting the rights of students with disabilities.
“Now more than ever, as the Trump administration attempts to dismantle the Department of Education and erode the hard-won rights of public school students, we must recommit to building schools where inclusion and equity aren’t just words but the values that guide everything we do,” continued Pringle. “Students with disabilities need education experts. They need people who understand and are trained to help guide, accommodate, and empower them through education. Believing education experts at ED can be replaced with medical experts at HHS is yet another misunderstanding of what our students need and deserve by our woefully underqualified Secretary of Education.”
Before IDEA was signed into law by President Gerald Ford on November 29, 1975, many students with disabilities were institutionalized, isolated from their peers, and denied access to public education. Countless students were placed in facilities away from their families with little to no opportunity to learn.
Fifty years ago, Congress changed that by requiring schools to provide equal access to education for all students with disabilities and by offering federal assistance to support necessary accommodations. IDEA also provides safeguards for families and parents of students with disabilities. These legal protections hold schools accountable to administer special education supports and allow parents a clear pathway to grieve when rights are violated. IDEA has transformed what it means to grow up with a disability in America, opening doors to further education, employment, and independence.
“Every student – no matter where they live or whether they have a disability – deserves the opportunity to learn and grow in their neighborhood public school,” said Pringle. “They deserve a school with the resources to meet their individual needs.”
Today, 95% of students with disabilities attend public schools. In the 2022-2023 school year, 7.5 million students received special education services through public schools – about 15% of all public school students.
“IDEA exists because of families and advocates raising their voices together to affirm that all children deserve an education,” Pringle said. “Today, on the 50th anniversary of this landmark legislation, let us once again join our voices to protect the promise of IDEA.”
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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest labor union, representing nearly 3 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators, students preparing to become teachers, health care workers, and public employees. Learn more at www.nea.org.
