U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos recommended Monday that Congress waive narrow provisions in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), while recommending core parts of disability law.
“There is no reason for Congress to waive any provision designed to keep students learning,” DeVos said in a statement. “With ingenuity, innovation, and grit, I know this nation’s educators and schools can continue to faithfully educate every one of its students.”
“We undertook this task acknowledging the reality that most students and teachers are at home today; yet, America’s teachers want to keep teaching and students need to keep learning,” said Secretary DeVos.
“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. With ingenuity, innovation, and grit, I know this nation’s educators and schools can continue to faithfully educate every one of its students.”
Disability rights groups and parents urged the Department of Education to keep the law fully intact, saying waivers are unnecessary and could lead to an eventual chipping away of the signature education law. Groups like the School Superintendents Association and National Association of State Directors of Special Education, though, have lobbied for temporary flexibility from some of these directives.
