★ On March 24th, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) withdrew the American Health Care Act (ACHA) from consideration. The decision to pull the legislation indefinitely was due to not enough votes in favor of the legislation being secured. The day prior, on March 23rd, the U.S. House of Representatives cancelled a scheduled vote on the legislation that had been intended to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. While the bill had faced a number of changes as the Speaker and the President had sought support, all iterations of the legislation included a proposal to restructure Medicaid into block grants. Children comprise almost half of Medicaid beneficiaries but less than one in five dollars spent by Medicaid is consumed by children. A per capita cap, even one that is based on different groups of beneficiaries, would disproportionately harm children's access to care, including services received at schools and early childhood programs. Congressional attempts to restructure Medicaid are likely to arise again, even outside of healthcare legislation, so be alert to any potential actions in this regard.
★ President Trump released his 2018 Budget Blueprint and submitted an appropriations request for FY 2017. The FY 2017 request includes $29.4 billion in funding for the Department of Defense and $3 billion for Homeland Security, while requesting a reduction in non-defense discretionary spending of $18 billion. While the 2018 budget level-funds IDEA, it would reduce funding for the Department of Education by $9 billion, a 13 percent reduction below the 2017 annualized CR level. The Council for Exceptional Children’s President Mikki Garcia released a statement about the Trump 2018 budget stating that CEC is “looking forward to working with Congress to correct this course as the FY 2018 budget process gets underway”.
★ On March 15th, legislation was introduced in the House (H.R. 1539) and in the Senate (S. 652) to reauthorize the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Act (EHDI). The EHDI helps to identify children with hearing loss and directs families to early intervention services. While the program is currently appropriated, it has not yet been reauthorized. Reauthorization is needed to ensure the EHDI program continues.
★ On March 22nd, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-0 in the case of Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District. The ruling was in favor of the family of a student with autism who argued the public-school district had not provided adequate services and supports to help their son progress in the general curriculum. The family was seeking reimbursement for the costs they incurred sending their child to a private school. This case has significant implications for students with disabilities and their families, as the precedent of how to define “appropriate education” has been clarified by the Supreme Court. For many years, lower courts had often ruled that programs with minimal benefits satisfied the law; the new ruling means that districts will be held to a higher standard. Chief Justice John Roberts stated, “When all is said and done, a student offered an educational program providing merely more than de minimis progress from year to year can hardly be said to have been offered an education at all. For children with disabilities, receiving instruction that aims so low would be tantamount to sitting idly awaiting the time when they were old enough to drop out.” CEC Policy and Advocacy staff and several CEC members had the opportunity to sit in on the Supreme Court oral argument and hear the deliberation first hand.
- After the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch was handed a copy of the ruling during a break in his testimony on Capitol Hill. He noted that his previous rulings regarding IDEA and student placement followed an established decade-long precedent and that the Supreme Court ruling adjusts the precedent.
★ On March 9th, the U.S. Senate joined the House of Representatives in voting to rescind the Every Student Succeeds Act’s (ESSA) core requirement that schools be held accountable for the performance of historically marginalized students, including students with disabilities. The vote also rescinded the teacher preparation regulations, which CEC believes should occur through reauthorization instead of regulatory processes.
★ The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) is seeking input regarding the IDEA.ed.gov website. The input is intended to support the Department in updating the site and ensuring there are easy-to-navigate resources available. A blog is available for users to provide comment.
Other updates, courtesy of the Council for Exceptional Children:
