When is School Choice Not Really a Choice? Insights from the National Association of State Directors of Special Education

This morning I attended a panel discussion at the Center for American Progress called "What's at Stake for Americans with Disabilities in the Trump Era." Advocates, families, and people with disabilities covered a wide range of issues, including Medicaid, Social Security, civil rights, and education. You can watch the hour-long event here.

In the next few days, I'll report on some of the health topics that were discussed, but I want to start with the topic of vouchers and special education, which was addressed very well by Valerie Williams, director of government relations for the National Association of State Directors of Special Education.

"What's come up a lot lately is the word 'voucher.' Don't get hung up on the word voucher," she said. "When someone talks to you about vouchers, education savings accounts, or scholarships, it's all the same thing. The problem is not the voucher, but the effort to privatize the public school system. Anything that will allow public tax dollars to be diverted to a private school that your child may not be able to attend, that's problematic. Students may be turned away based on disability, sexual orientation, past disciplinary records, or religion."

She offered a realistic scenario of a family with a disabled child that gets a $10,000 to send their child to the school of their choice. First, the parents must sign away their rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which include required services, legal protections, and reporting on outcomes. A few things can happen:

• The school may be a good fit for the child, but the cost may be $20,000, only half of which is covered by the voucher. Or the voucher may not cover the costs of books, uniforms, or transportation, which can be thousands of dollars. "So when you're discussing a middle- or low-income family, they can't make that leap, which means it's not accessible to them, and they honestly don't have a choice."
• The school may tell them in the first few months that they can't offer the specialized services or equipment that their child needs, in which case the family will have to forego those needs or return to the public system, which is mandated to provide those services.

"If you're in a rural area," Williams explained, "the problem is even bigger. Because funds are diverted outside the public school system, and the only school is the public school, so you literally have no other option, and they have less money to work with."

In closing, Williams said, "We need to make decisions as taxpayers and legislators that will benefit the masses, not a few students. I'm concerned that children and adults with disabilities are going to be sicker, less independent, and not educated to the fullest extent they could be, based on some of the ideas that are floating around right now."

She encouraged the attendees to contact their state and federal elected officials and explain not just what they're against, but also how existing programs benefit them and their families.

Is Vaccine Debate Diverting Attention from the Real Risks to People with Autism?

When you hear "Trump" and "autism," you may first think about the president's support for debunked myths that vaccines cause autism. But the uproar over that issue maybe detracting from the real concern -- the harm that will be caused by repealing protection in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), according to health policy experts at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Center for Mental Health Policy and Services at the University of Pennsylvania.

In a column posted today in the New England Journal of Medicine, the authors point out that the ACA has expanded access to health insurance for low-income people in 31 states and the District of Columbia by expanding the Medicaid program -- the largest health care payer for people with autism and developmental disabilities.

One of the authors, Colleen Barry of the Bloomberg School of Public Health, said, "These rollbacks could be devastating for children and adults with autism and other disabilities. It is important not to let the controversy over the debunked link between vaccines and autism distract from what is at stake in terms of the potential loss of critical benefits this vulnerable group relies on."

The authors are also concerned about threats to the rights of students with disabilities. Barry said, "People who care about preserving and expanding services for children and adults with autism need to pay attention to the conversations in Washington around the ACA repeal and threats to IDEA to make sure important protections and guarantees are not lost."

Read "Care for Autism and Other Disabilities -- A Future in Jeopardy."

As Budget Cuts Loom, No One's in Charge of Special Education

Christina Samuels, who writes the "On Special Education" blog for Education Week, continues her good reporting on issues related to students with disabilities. Today she asks, "When Will We Have a New Federal Special Education Chief? (And Why It Matters)." Interestingly, she points out that four assistant secretaries for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) have been appointed during a president's first term. Those four were nominated during April to June and confirmed as early as June and as late as October.

The advocates who Christina has interviewed aren't concerned about the non-political staff who are involved in special education policy and operations. But with a proposed increase in defense spending and likely cuts in other areas, this vacancy could put special education programs in jeopardy. Katherine Beh Neas, vice president for government relations for Easterseals, told Samuels, "If you don't have a political person in place advocating for the political part of the functions of that department, it leaves the department at risk."

Read the EdWeek article, which also addresses potentially harmful changes to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). And take a look at Christina's blog, On Special Education.

Vouchers and Special Education: A Primer

Thanks to Education Week for this graphic illustration of how special education money gets to local schools. As Secretary Betsy DeVos shifts the focus of the public education conversation toward school choice and vouchers, it's important to understand how the current system works. There are a bunch of articles and analyses about this, but here's what I think is important to know.

1. Special education is already underfunded. When the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was passed in 1975, Congress authorized funding for special education up to 40 percent of average per-pupil spending in public schools. But the current federal contribution is just about 16 percent. Read more details about this at EdCentral from the New America.

Rising spending for special education over the past 15 years is mostly the result of more children being identified as "disabled," not a disproportionate increase in the cost of special education services.

2. Investing in private schools takes resources away from public schools. Read this account by Bonnie Kandel, a parent in Indiana, "Civil Rights Crisis Unfolding: Most Needy Children in America at Risk." She's concerned about the impact that voucher systems and Education Savings Accounts would have on her son, who has autism is attending first grade in a public school (after being asked to leave two private preschools). "Options for students with special needs, like my son, are worse than abysmal. Voucher programs are programs where schools choose the child. He is expensive to educate. Not only does he need special interventions that cost money directly, but he also needs teachers with experience and higher education specializing in autism." Kandel points out that Indiana public schools have already lost $485 million because of the push for "school choice." And she's worried about what will happen with more cuts in more states.

3. Students in private schools often forfeit protections and rights. Voucher programs are risky for families because students who attend private schools aren't guaranteed the same rights and protections as students in public schools are. Many states require parents to sign away some or all of their protections under IDEA, Section 504, and the Americans with Disabilities Act to participate in voucher programs. If a private school determines that a student needs support services like occupational or speech therapy, parents often have to cover those services when they exceed the value of the voucher. And if parents are not satisfied with the education at a private school, they have no legal recourse -- their only choice may be to remove their child and find a new school.

4. Voucher programs have not been shown to improve academic performance -- and have actually worsened academic outcomes in Louisiana, Ohio, Indiana, and other states. As Kevin Carey reports in The New York Times, the latest studies are "very unusual." He writes: "When people try to improve education, sometimes they succeed and sometimes they fail. The successes usually register as modest improvements, while the failures generally have no effect at all. It’s rare to see efforts to improve test scores having the opposite result. Martin West, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, calls the negative effects in Louisiana 'as large as any I’ve seen in the literature' — not just compared with other voucher studies, but in the history of American education research." Read Carey's column, "Dismal Results from Vouchers Surprise Researchers as DeVos Era Begins."

Learn more from these recent reports from the Center for American Progress:

• "Betsy DeVos's Threat to Children with Disabilities," Feb. 2, 2017
• "Vouchers Are Not a Viable Solution for Vast Swaths of America," March 3, 2017
• "Improving Outcomes for Students with Disabilities: Negotiating Common Ground for District and Charter School Collaboration, Jan. 31, 2017

Secretary DeVos: Don't Forget About Civil Rights

Like many civil rights advocates, Derek Black, a law professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law, predicts that the Trump Administration will try to aggressively scale back enforcement of civil rights in public schools. Read "Law Professor: Expect Big Rollback of Civil Rights Enforcement in Education Under Trump and DeVos" from the Washington Post.

Furthering that concern are suggestions that the new head of the department's Office of Civil Rights may be Gail Heriot, who in the past has been critical of the office for taking too strong a stance on enforcement. (And who once likened transgender students to people who want to believe they are Russian princesses.)

More than 60 civil rights groups have written to Secretary Betsy DeVos urging her to appoint a head of the Office of Civil Rights who has experience fighting discrimination against marginalized students. In other words, someone who's qualified.

In the letter, the groups say:
"Every child has the right to attend a public school that is warm, welcoming, rigorous, and that prepares them for success in life Our bedrock civil rights laws, made meaningful through enforcement and oversight, stand guard to protect that right and ensure equal educational opportunity....The selection of an individual to lead the Office of Civil Rights is one of the most significant decisions you and the president will make with regard to the civil rights of the nation's students....The assistant secretary should have a track record of experience with a range of civil rights issues, have experience with and be committed to remedying individual and systemic discrimination, be prepared to follow wherever the law and the facts lead, and believe that every student in kindergarten through 12th grade has the right to be in school every day and be treated with dignity without the burden of discrimination." Read the full letter.

Here's who signed the letter. If you agree, let the secretary's office know at 202-401-3000.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
National Women's Law Center
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
MALDEF

American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity
American Association of People with Disabilities
American Association of University Women (AAUW)
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
American Federation of Teachers
American Jewish Committee (AJC)
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
Anti-Defamation League
The Arc of the United States
Association of University Centers on Disabilities
Augustus F. Hawkins Foundation
Coalition for Disability Health Equity
Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
Education Law Center-PA
Equal Rights Advocates
GLSEN
Human Rights Campaign
International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies (IAOHRA)
Japanese American Citizens League
Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
LatinoJustice PRLDEF
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
League of United Latin American Citizens
NAACP
National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE)
National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities
National Association of Human Rights Workers
National Bar Association
National Black Justice Coalition
National Center for Learning Disabilities
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Center for Transgender Equality
National Congress of American Indians
National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA)
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of La Raza
National Down Syndrome Congress
National Education Association
National Employment Law Project
National Indian Education Association
National LGBTQ Task Force
National Organization for Women
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Urban League
OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates
People For the American Way
PolicyLink
Poverty & Race Research Action Council
SEIU
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)
Southern Poverty Law Center
TASH
Woodhull Freedom Foundation
World Without Genocide at Mitchell Hamline School of Law

BREAKING: Update on IDEA Website

Today I was interviewed by Emma Brown, the Washington Post reporter who covered the missing Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) website last week. She told me what she's heard from the department, and I told her what I'm hearing from parents.

From her article, "Education Department's Special-Ed Has Been Down for More Than a Week, and Parents are Not Happy":
"There's been no estimate of when it'll be restored, no explanation of why it's not there," said Mark Miller, who blogs about special-education issues and is a Montgomery County, Md., parent of a child with special needs. "It makes people feel like we're not important and our children are not important. Their communication has been very poor and is contributing to the perception that this is not a priority for the secretary."

The article was posted online at 5:21pm today, and at some point the website reappeared, pretty much in the same form it was before -- idea.ed.gov. Which is odd considering what a department official told Brown:

• "The site has been troubled by technical glitches and IT experts are not comfortable restoring the site at this point because its server remains unstable and could crash at any time." When did they change their mind, and is the site still unstable?

• "Everything that was available on the website is available elsewhere on the main Education Department site." The official either lied or was misinformed. This simply was not true.

This isn't just about a website. When it comes time for this administration to recommend policy affecting children with disabilities, remember that the department's first actions regarding special education were to:

• Announce on Twitter that a "technical glitch" had removed special-education information from the department's website (only after this has been pointed out by numerous concerned families).
• Ignore phone calls, emails, and other inquiries from teachers, parents, and senators.
• Not post any follow-up information for a week (and they still haven't).
• State that the website could not be restored because it was not stable.
• Falsely claim the information was available somewhere else on the education department's website.
• Restore the website after allowing the issue to blow up due to a lack of honesty and transparency.

In related news, yesterday Secretary DeVos launched her official Twitter account, @BetsyDevosED. Which is appropriate, because in only her second week, I already feel like I've been #BetsyDevosed.

Betsy DeVos, You've Got Mail. Pressure to Restore IDEA Website Intensifies as Senators Demand Accountability

Thanks to activists and concerned citizens like you, Secretary Betsy DeVos is feeling real pressure to restore the IDEA website. This movement started with phone calls, tweets, and emails from people like you and me, and now two senators have raised the stakes. In a letter to Secretary DeVos on Friday, Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell demanded an explanation and a plan to restore the information. Read the letter below and then take a minute to thank Senators Murray and Cantwell for their support on this important issue. Twitter: @SenatorCantwell and @PattyMurray. Facebook: Senator Murray and Senator Cantwell. Here's the letter:

During your [confirmation] hearing...your statements regarding the landmark Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) raised concerns among children with disabilities and their parents about your the the Trump administration's view on special education and the rights of these families and students. We expect you and the Trump administration to fulfill your commitment to all students, including students with disabilities.

To that end, we are deeply concerned that prior to your confirmation and arrival at the department, the centralized resource website for IDEA (http://www.idea.ed.gov) became inaccessible to the public for more than a week, and is now redirecting people to a site for the Office of Special Education. The OSEP website lacks much of the information previously available.

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. For more than a decade, this website, which was released by President George W. Bush's Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, has served as a one-stop shop for resources related to IDEA and its regulations. The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services has consistently updated this website as Congress has enacted new legislation and the courts have interpreted the law....

...We are seeking a detailed explanation for the disappearance ofthese centralized resources, and the plan to restore this critical information. We request you provide our staff with the following information:

1)  Your assurance that this website will not be stripped down in any way during your tenure.
2)  A detailed timeline of when the centralized resources previously available at www.idea.ed.gov became inaccessible to public view and all subsequent steps that were taken to restore these resources as well as all steps taken to provide the public with more limited information from third party sites or other areas ofthe Department website.
3)  To the extent there are (or were) technical problems that led to the removal of the centralized resources, please provide a technical report on the issue, how it was resolved and/or when it is expected to be resolved if the issue was limited to this specific part of the Department's website, and if so why.

4)  A detailed plan for restoring the information previously available including all previously available resources for students, parents, schools, districts, state governments, researchers, and policy makers containing information about their rights under IDEA, information about the law and regulations to facilitate high degrees of compliance, model forms, presentations pertaining to IDEA, materials for training, and guidance documents relating to IDEA.
5)  The date by which all information previously available at www.idea.ed.gov will again be accessible to the public at a central location.

6)  A detailed plan for how parents will be informed of the problems with the website and what has been done to address the problems, to ensure that nobody who went to the website in recent days will be discouraged from accessing this information in the future.
7)  A detailed description of any content from the website that was modified by the Department during the period oftime the website was removed from the public domain. For each change, a detailed explanation for the modification.

Thank you for your attention to this pressing matter.

Read the full letter.

Welcome to the working world, Betsy. This is called accountability.

Medicaid Cuts a "Prescription to Hurt the Neediest Kids"

Proposed cuts to Medicaid will significantly harm students with disabilities, according to a national survey of school superintendents. A plan that Republican leaders are pushing would reduce Medicaid spending by 25 percent by distributing Medicaid funding through a block grant or a per-capita cap, shifting costs to states. It's estimated that these cuts would actually be 30 to 35 percent when combined with the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

Under Medicaid, schools are eligible to receive funding for medically necessary services for students under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This revenue helps cover the costs of nurses, therapists, and others that provide services for children with disabilities and health services for students living in poverty.

School leaders surveyed by AASA, the School Superintendents Association, said a 30 percent cut to Medicaid would disproportionately affect children with disabilities. Survey respondents (school superintendents and assistant superintendents, school business officials, and special education directors) anticipate the following consequences:

• Schools would need to reduce services and support for students with disabilities.
• Schools would be less able to provide qualified therapists (physical, occupational, and speech).
• Many schools will struggle to comply with the requirements of the IDEA, which is already "woefully underfunded."
• Health services for children with chronic conditions would be reduced.
• The inability of families to access regular check-ins, immunizations, and screenings for vision, dental, and hearing would increase absenteeism and interfere with their children's ability to learn. 

Read the report.

It's important to note that cuts to Medicaid would impact all children, not just those who are low-income or in special education. As one respondent said, "Without Medicaid funds, we would be forced to cut services to the majority of our students to make up for the special education mandates, which are mostly underfunded or not funded at all." That would mean larger class sizes, tighter budgets for salaries and programs, and cuts to important support like guidance counselors and mental health services. It would also be difficult to attract and retain high-quality educators and administrators.

The report concludes:
"School leaders are deeply concerned by the impact a block grant would have on districts’ ability to deliver critical special education supports and health services to students. We urge mem- bers of Congress to weigh how children will be impacted by a Medicaid block grant and to reach out to school leaders for speci c insights about the importance of their school-based Medicaid programs for students."

Read "School District Chiefs: Proposed Medicaid Changes Would Hurt Poor Children and Students with Disabilities" from the Washington Post.

Read the report, "Cutting Medicaid: A Prescription to Hurt the Neediest Kids."

More on the IDEA Website: What's There (not much), What's Not (a lot)

The Department of Education took a baby step in restoring information about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), but many resources that families depend on are missing. Thanks to the Internet Archive Wayback Machine, I took a close look at what was there as recently as Jan. 18 and the lightweight page idea.ed.gov links to now.

Here's a before and after. On the left is what the IDEA microsite used to look like. On the right is the page idea.ed.gov now redirects to -- just a subpage for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services:

What the homepage of idea.ed.gov looked like on Jan. 18:

From this page, you can choose between IDEA Part B (which applies to ages 3-21) or IDEA Part C (birth to age 2). Here's what the Part B page looked like on Jan. 18:

So basically, the Education Department has this information available:

• The text of the IDEA statute.
• The text of the IDEA Part B regulations
• The text of the IDEA Part C regulations
• Memos and policy letters from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
• Training resources for state and local agencies

I should also mention that the department's Office of Civil Rights still has this page live, describing the civil rights of students under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

All of the other information and resources for parents, teachers, and school districts is not available, including disproportionality, early intervention, evaluation, funding, how to detect specific learning disabilities, monitoring and enforcement, private schools. and secondary transition. It's missing training materials, model forms, video clips, presentations, and Q&A documents, and more.

The ball's in your court (still), Department of Education. Do you care enough about IDEA and the families and teachers who need this information to fix your technical glitch?

Who will join me in calling the secretary's office at 202-401-3000 every day until this is resolved? Also, tweet to @usedgov, @ED_Spec_Rehab, and @EDCivilRights.

IDEA Website is Back (sort of); Dept. of Education "Functioning Under the Same Laws"

"Please know that OSEP is here, functioning under the same laws, and happy to answer calls and emails about our work whenever possible."

On Thursday night, I left a voicemail for many offices at the Department of Education. This morning,  one replied -- the Office of Special Education Programs. Here are highlights of our email conversation:

OSEP:
I'm reaching out to you in response to your phone call to our office—the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education. I just wanted to let you know that we are working with our tech folks to get IDEA.ed.gov up and running as soon as possible, and that we are incredibly sorry for all of the inconvenience the glitch has caused. I completely understand what a blow not having this excellent resource is—our staff use it all the time as well! In the meantime, please use the site below to access the regulations and other resources on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/osep/osep-idea.html

Me: 
I know that you and other employees are working hard to continue the important mission of the Department of Education, and in your case, special education. 

As you can imagine, families like mine are concerned about the impact of the new administration on special education. Having the IDEA website go down during this time raises a lot of concerns - as if the department did this intentionally. I know that technical glitches happen, and I think it's important for the department to announce that the site is live and that the department continues to support students with disabilities and the principles of the IDEA.

Is there anything I can tell my concerned friends about the department's commitment in this area?

OSEP:
Thank you for your understanding! We are working on providing updates on these technical difficulties, and notifying the public of this new temporary page that the idea.ed.gov domain now redirects to.

Please know that OSEP is here, functioning under the same laws, and happy to answer calls and emails about our work whenever possible.

Thanks for helping us spread the word on the website!

The IDEA Website Down: Tell the Education Department You Care (UPDATED)

This morning, when Betsy DeVos started her job as Secretary of Education, many people noticed that an entire section of the department's website was missing -- the part about that pesky Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). During her confirmation hearing, Secretary DeVos expressed a lack of understanding about the federal act that protects the rights of students with disabilities -- and even expressed an opinion that the states should decide what rights children should have.

So you can imagine that even with the official explanation from the department, people are skeptical that this was a mere coincidence, since the majority of the website remains intact and online. Is this an attack on special education, or a technical glitch that will soon be resolved? Neither would surprise me.

What You Can Do:

This is a great opportunity to show the leadership and staff at the Department of Education that parents and advocates are paying attention. We have to be a squeaky wheel, and a broken website is a big deal.

1. Tweet to @usedgov and ask when the idea.ed.gov site will be available.

2. Keep checking, and let me know when it's back. The actual URL is https://www2.ed.gov/not_home-IDEA.html. Tweet to me at @mmiller20910.

3. Call the department and tell the staff you want and need this information. Here are a few numbers:

• Department of Education, 1-800-872-5327
• Office of the Secretary, 202-401-3000
• Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, 202-245-7459 (#9 for director) or 202-245-6496
• Office of Civil Rights, 800-421-3481, OCR@ed.gov
• Office of the Chief Information Officer, 202-245-6640

Please keep in mind that you will probably reach a non-political staff member. Be polite, but let them know that you are concerned about this, and ask for a specific estimate for when the website will be restored. I've seen firsthand that this is how website issues get fixed -- we need lots of people going to their bosses saying people are asking and/or complaining. If this is truly a technical glitch, it will be easy to fix. If it's not restored soon, that will be a sign of worse things to come.

UPDATE (Feb. 9, 7:30am): I left a voicemail at each of these numbers last night. Today , the voicemail for the Office of the Secretary says, "Sorry, Office of the Secretary is not available. You cannot record a message for Office of the Secretary. This mailbox is full."

Chief Information Officer: "The number you have reached is not in service. This is a recording."

While we still need to call attention to this problem, which is denying families information they need, there IS some IDEA information on the education website at https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/osep/osep-idea.html. This does not replace the need to restore idea.ed.gov, but share this with people who need information immediately.

UPDATE TO UPDATE (Feb. 9, 9:00am): The website appears to have been restored. Someone noticed that the blog link doesn't work. Are there other differences? idea.ed.gov

She's Your Education Secretary. Now What?

Reposting a message from my Facebook page. Now the work begins.

I'm seeing so many friends expressing surprise/shock that the Senate has confirmed Betsy DeVos as the most unqualified education secretary of all time. I'm not shocked, and I want to tell you why.

"We" - American voters - elected a president who surrounds himself with loyal billionaires. And we've collectively elected a Republican-majority House and Senate, and we're living with the consequences. The Republicans have all the leverage, and (sorry) hearing from constituents isn't as powerful as pressure from the White House and their party's leadership. Money and power > public opinion.

Why would Republican senators who understand and support public education support this nominee? Many reasons:

1. It's in their own personal interest. Breaking with the party could harm their careers, and going with the majority can be good for them. (Kudos to Senators Collins and Murkowski, but it will be interesting to see how they pay for this vote. And those Republican senators who were supposedly undecided? They were playing a game, just holding out for an incentive to keep them in line. If they went by what they heard from their constituents, they would have voted differently.)
2. Many Republicans like Senators McCain and Graham have signaled their willingness to challenge President Trump on some big issues. But they have to pick their battles, and the truth is that public education isn't as important to them as Russian interference with our elections and other international issues.
3. Even more sadly, education just isn't a top issue with everything else going on. During the campaign, it was barely mentioned by any candidate. Clearly, there are few Republicans are willing to fall on their sword over public education.

So now what? Parents, teachers, and others need to pressure our now-Secretary of Education to do the right thing for ALL students. Many of my friends are personally affected by special education. Keep up the pressure, and intensify it. Get over Secretary DeVos's incompetent performance in her confirmation hearings. Get over the fact that she got this job because of her wealth and political donations. Let her know she and her appointees will hear from you on every decision that affects you and your children.

More important, remember how you're feeling today and apply that passion to the mid-term elections. Hold your elected officials accountable, and work to kick them out of office if you think that's what's needed. To make real change, and to prevent further damage, we need checks and balances, and a Democratic majority is in our grasp.

This was a losing effort, but be encouraged by the passion and unity it inspired. Don't give up.

Opposition Grows on DeVos Nomination: Add Your Voice!

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions is scheduled to vote on the nomination of Betsy DeVos to be Secretary of Education on Tuesday. Senator Franken is saying he won't vote for her, and neither will any of his Democratic colleagues. The question is whether any Republicans are willing to break from party lines to do the right thing and reject one of the least qualified Cabinet nominees in recent history.

It's clear that Betsy DeVos is not qualified for the job of @usedgov Sec., & I will not be supporting her nomination https://t.co/3cXbnzXCvD

— Sen. Al Franken (@SenFranken) January 19, 2017

I will be voting against Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education. We must strengthen public education in America, not destroy it.

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) January 26, 2017

Thousands of anti-DeVos calls jam Senate phone lines https://t.co/BC2e2a5ZNz pic.twitter.com/iJiWrFvotC

— The Hill (@thehill) January 27, 2017

Talking to Rachel Maddow last night, Sen. Franken said, “You talk about DeVos. She is someone that there’s not going to be one Democratic vote for her, and we’re trying to find Republicans who will vote against her because she’s an ideologue who knows next to nothing about education policy as we demonstrated, or she demonstrated really, in her confirmation hearing.”

More than a million people have signed petitions against her nomination, and tens of thousands of people have contacted senators to express their opposition. In addition, the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities sent a letter to the committee with a list of questions they want Ms. DeVos to answer before being confirmed, especially since she seems to either not understand or not support the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the most important legislation protecting the rights of 6.5 million students with disabilities. The letter concludes:

"A committee vote on Betsy DeVos for U.S. Secretary of Education should be delayed until Mrs. DeVos has fully answered the above questions, and allows Committee members the opportunity to fully understand how she plans to ensure that students with disabilities receive a quality education with their peers as required by federal statute."

People like you can make a difference. Call 202-225-3121 and tell your representative and senators that you oppose Betsy DeVos, and why.

LA Times: "Betsy DeVos Embarrassed Herself and Should Be Rejected by the Senate"

In a strongly worded editorial, the Los Angeles Times says Betsy DeVos, President Trump's nominee for U.S. Secretary of Education "doesn't meet the basic qualifications for the post." Stating that her support of school vouchers and her lack of experience in public schools do not disqualify her, "what did render her unacceptable was her abysmal performance at her confirmation hearing, during which she displayed an astonishing ignorance about basic education issues, an extraordinary lack of thoughtfulness about ongoing debates in the field, and an unwillingness to respond to important questions."

It goes on to say, "She was so unprepared that she sounded like a schoolchild who hadn't done her homework. She frankly embarrassed herself and should be rejected by the Senate. Better yet, President-elect Donald Trump should withdraw her name and find someone who at least meets the basic qualifications for the post."

If you agree, what can you do about it? Sign this petition TODAY: "Tell Senate Democrats: Block and resist Betsy DeVos's confirmation as secretary of education."

Betsy DeVos "Unqualified, Unprepared, and Unfit" for Department of Education

Diane Ravitch

Betsy DeVos, President Trump's nominee to head the U.S. Department of Education, is facing strong opposition from elected officials, education advocates, parents, and others because of her lack of experience in and understanding of public schools. The vote, originally scheduled for tomorrow, will be held Jan. 31. That gives you more time to add your voice in opposition. Sign this petition TODAY: "Tell Senate Democrats: Block and resist Betsy DeVos's confirmation as secretary of education."

Diane Ravitch, a respected education professor who held senior roles in the Department of Education in both Republican and Democratic administrations, is no fan of DeVos. In an open letter to her former boss, Senator Lamar Alexander, who now chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, she said DeVos would be "the first Secretary of Education in our history to be hostile to public education."

She writes, "Now you are in a position of selecting a new Secretary of Education. I watched the hearings, and it was evident to all but the most extreme partisans that Ms. DeVos is unqualified, unprepared, and unfit for the responsibility of running this important agency.....Her lack of experience leaves her ill-equipped to address the needs of the vast majority of American schools....At least 85 percent of American school children attend public schools. She has no ideas about how to improve public schools. Her only idea is that students should enroll in non-public schools."

She also cites statistics showing that DeVos's influence on Michigan schools is hardly a model for our nation. After embracing her approach to school choice, Michigan has gone from 28th to 41st in fourth-grade reading and dropped from 27th to 42nd in fourth-grade math. Eighty percent of charter schools in Michigan are run by for-profit companies, who make more than $1 billion a year, operate without accountability or transparency, and do not show better results than public schools.

Just When I Thought I Was Out, They Pull Me Back In

Sometimes it's exhausting following and reporting on disability policy. There are so many setbacks and so many uphill battles. But ever since I started this blog in 2008, I've kept doing it because there are so few outlets for this kind of advocacy.

After Trump was elected, I didn't expect to like any of his Cabinet nominees. But how could I have predicted what an absolute disaster Betsy DeVos would be for all students, including those with special needs? Support vouchers and Christian education all you want, but after carefully preparing for your confirmation hearing, you really don't know about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act? These protections should be "left to the states"?

Assuming Ms. DeVos is confirmed (as the least qualified Education Secretary in our history), I'm going to need to keep this blog going and advocate in many other ways. Which makes me think of this quote from the otherwise terrible "Godfather III."

Nominee for Secretary of Education "Confused" about Federal Protections for Students with Disabilities

In a field of unqualified Cabinet nominees, Betsy DeVos may be the most terrifying for families who have children with disabilities. I knew that Ms. DeVos had never attended a public school or sent her own children to a public school, but her exchanges in her confirmation hearings were downright scary.

Read "Betsy DeVos Apparently 'Confused About Federal Law Protecting Students with Disabilities" from the Washington Post and watch "6 head-scratching moments" from her confirmation hearing:

Disability Advocates React to Potential Secretary of Education: It Ain't Pretty

Tonight I went on Twitter and asked for any organization or parent who cares about special education to tell me why they support Betsy DeVos, President-elect Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education. I'm reading all the reactions I can find, and let's just say it's not exactly a balanced debate. The consensus: She's unqualified, has no history of supporting public education, and at best is "confused" about the rights of students with disabilities. Here's a small sampling:

Charles P. Fox, a Chicago attorney who has a child with special needs and writes the insightful "Special Education Law Blog," was way out ahead of this issue, blogging back on Dec. 7 about "Defending Public Education under Secretary of Education DeVos." About special education, he notes that while charter schools must adhere to federal laws including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a 2012 report from the Government Accountability Office noted that "federal intervention is needed to ensure that students with disabilities are able to access their free appropriate public education in charter schools." He predicted we'd be reading a lot more about this nominee, and he was right.

Alice Wong, founder of the Disability Visibility Project:
"She kept repeating that it's a matter for the states when this is a federal act. This is pretty basic knowledge that any educational professional should have."

Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH):
"Not only did Mrs. DeVos decline to commit to enforcing IDEA, but she said she was confused about whether it's a federal law. The fact that a nominee to lead the Department of Education seemed unfamiliar with the federal law to protect students with disabilities -- a law that she would have a major responsibility in enforcing -- is unacceptable."

American Association of People with Disabilities:
We are "very concerned that Ms. DeVos seems unfamiliar with the IDEA and the protections it provides to students with disabilities. Should Ms. DeVos be confirmed as Secretary of Education, she must become more familiar with the law and commit to ensuring that it is fully funded and enforced."

Denise Marshall, executive director of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA):
“The fact that she doesn’t understand the basics about federal education law is just appalling. It was pretty clear to us that she is not, and never has been, an advocate for students with disabilities. We are alarmingly concerned."

Lindsay Jones, National Center for Learning Disabilities:
“Parents of children with disabilities want the next U.S. secretary of education to uphold the federal rights, protections and opportunities provided by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Anything less is a disservice to America’s 6 million students with disabilities. It is clear we have more to learn about where Ms. DeVos stands on this topic and how she will ensure our children are protected.”

As the parent of a child with disabilities, I found the Ed Secy-designate's answers kind of appalling. https://t.co/QJNwWJq5pd

— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) January 18, 2017

I went on @MSNBC to discuss my concerns with Betsy DeVos' lack of understanding of challenges facing students with disabilities pic.twitter.com/VbspXq1zhc

— Sen. Maggie Hassan (@SenatorHassan) January 19, 2017

There is no precedent for a @usedgov secretary with the lack of experience in public education that Betsy DeVos has.

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) January 17, 2017

Betsy DeVos has proven that she is wholly unqualified to lead the Department of Education.

Call your senators: https://t.co/royTVRhN5t pic.twitter.com/WbHlQdyQpv

— The Democrats (@TheDemocrats) January 19, 2017

"My Daughter with Autism Relies on Public Education, and I'm Terrified for the Future"

My Daughter With Autism Relies on Public Education & I'm Terrified for the Future #BetsyDeVos #Trump #autism https://t.co/G25rQxRQzX

— Jody Allard (@sendvodka) January 19, 2017

"I Have a Special-Needs Son, and Betsy DeVos Scares Me to Death"

My son wasn't “educable” until the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act—which Betsy DeVos hasn’t heard ofhttps://t.co/14owXz7YmY pic.twitter.com/cwnQhTFbva

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) January 19, 2017