For Immediate Release
05/23/2019
Contact
David Card
202.408.9514 x122
[email protected]
WASHINGTON, DC – On July 3, 2018, the Department of Education (ED) implemented a two-year delay of a rule circulated by the Obama administration intended to prevent racial discrimination in the education of students with disabilities. The rule, developed as the result of a long review process, was due to go into effect shortly, and states were making preparations for implementation.
That July, an advocacy group sued ED over the delay and in March of this year, the court ruled the delay was illegal and the rule should go into effect.
On May 20, 2019, several months after the Court’s decision, ED issued a statement informing states that they should implement the rule. However, a week earlier, ED also requested a new Information Collection from states on the extent to which the state was already implementing the rule.
While we are pleased that ED has made a clear statement about implementation of the rule, NDRN is concerned that this new Information Collection will further confuse the issue. The court has ordered the delay of the rule be rescinded and ED has informed states that they must implement the rule. That should be the end of the story. The victims of all of this change will be children with disabilities who require education services. Enough is enough.
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The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) is the nonprofit membership organization for the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) Systems and the Client Assistance Programs (CAP) for individuals with disabilities. Collectively, the Network is the largest provider of legally based advocacy services to people with disabilities in the United States.
