Congressman Panetta Leads 73 Members in Pushing for Increased Funding for Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) in Next COVID-19 Relief Package

WASHINGTON, DC – On Thursday, July 23 Congressman Jimmy Panetta (CA-20), Congressman Jared Huffman (CA-02), Congressman David B. McKinley (WV-01), Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Congressman Dean Phillips (MN-03) and Congresswoman Angie Craig (MN-02) led their fellow members of Congress in urging House leadership to include strong funding in the next COVID-19 relief package for the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) to help our schools properly support students with disabilities. 

"Though educational support was made available to schools and states through the CARES Act, there is an immediate need for designated special education emergency funding. To address this gap, we are requesting $13 billion in funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), including in the form of the Part B grants-to-states program, in the next coronavirus relief package. This funding will ensure that schools can properly support students with disabilities, whose access to a quality education continues to be increasingly vulnerable due to the nature of this pandemic," the members wrote.

"Students with disabilities deserve a quality education.  This was true before this pandemic, and it is true now.  Congress must provide our educators with the resources that they need to fully support students with disabilities with individualized services, and fulfill the promise we made when the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) passed forty-five years ago.  While this Administration has upheld the core tenets of IDEA as students have adapted to distance learning, schools need additional support if they are to uphold the rights of students with disabilities and guarantee them the education to which they are entitled," said Congressman Panetta.

"Our students with special needs are vulnerable to the detrimental effects of prolonged distance learning. In order to fully support the accommodations and modifications that their individualized education programs require, additional funding is urgently needed to provide the tools our students need to be successful in this new learning environment," said Dr. Deneen Guss, Monterey County Superintendent of Schools.

"The Administration’s proposed fiscal year 2020 budget holds IDEA programs at funding levels comparable to fiscal year 2017. IDEA funding will not come close to addressing the commitment Congress made to support state and local school district services for special needs students. We support this request for $13 billion in funding for the IDEA in the next coronavirus relief package to ensure that schools can properly support students with disabilities, whose access to a quality education continues to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic," said Dr. Faris Sabbah, Superintendent, Santa Cruz County Office of Education

This letter is supported by the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, and AASA, The School Superintendents Association.

Read the full letter here or below:



Dear Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader McCarthy:



Thank you for your efforts so far in addressing the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our nation’s education system. Though educational support was made available to schools and states through the CARES Act, there is an immediate need for designated special education emergency funding. To address this gap, we are requesting $13 billion in funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), including in the form of the Part B grants-to-states program, in the next coronavirus relief package. This funding will ensure that schools can properly support students with disabilities, whose access to a quality education continues to be increasingly vulnerable due to the nature of this pandemic.



When IDEA became law in 1975, the federal government made a pledge to states and school districts to pay 40 percent of the Average Per Pupil Expenditure in IDEA Part B grants to states. We have always fallen short of this commitment, with regular appropriations for IDEA Part B never reaching above 19.4 percent. But while bipartisan work has been done to increase that amount over the past two years, current levels still fall short in meeting the federal promise to students and their families.



While the classroom environment has shifted, a school’s responsibility to provide necessary and legally guaranteed services and support for students with disabilities has not changed. The challenge of providing high-quality distance education to students with disabilities was made even more difficult by IDEA’s chronic underfunding in the regular appropriations process. Schools are now also preparing to mitigate the impacts from the loss of, or limited, services and supports for their students with disabilities as they transition into summer learning and the upcoming school year, but these efforts carry unexpected costs that their yearly IDEA budgets could not have previously accounted for.



So far, guidance issued by the Department of Education has upheld the core tenets of IDEA for schools, which protects the rights of students with disabilities in the classroom during the pandemic, whether that is in person or online. Dedicated funding would assist schools in their mission to fully support students with disabilities with individualized services that are tailored to meet the needs of each student and uphold their rights under IDEA. Providing set-aside IDEA funding in the next relief package would also demonstrate the commitment of Congress and the Department of Education to providing essential support to students with disabilities.



We thank you for your continued support for our schools and students, and we look forward to working with you to ensure we are providing an accessible and quality education to students of all abilities.



Sincerely,