The Nation has a new Secretary of Education and is distressed to free its department from its special education obligations.
The United States Senate voted 51 to 45 in the party lines this week to confirm Linda McMahon to direct the Department of Education.
The measure occurs despite the opposition of many disability defenders concerned with McMahon’s limited knowledge of the Education Law of individuals with disabilities and their plans for the Special Education Program.
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During the confirmation hearings, the former WWE executive had the lack of details when asked what idea promises disabilities to the students and she repeatedly suggested to the senators that the supervision of the program should no longer be housed within the Department of Education.
«Special Education, I think I could return to HHS where it began,» said McMahon, referring to the Department of Health and Human Services.
In addition, McMahon proposed to transfer the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Education, which manages the complaints of disability in schools, to the Department of Justice.
McMahon told the senators during the confirmation process that «of all my heart» supports the «mission» of President Donald Trump to abolish the Department of Education and «return education to the United States.» When asked who would fulfill the idea if this happened, McMahon would only say that she supports the maintenance of funds for disability services and that «the programs have to have responsibility.»
The comments led several groups, including the Board of Lawyers of Mothers and Defenders, the American Association of Persons with Disabilities, the Fund for the Education and Defense of Disability Rights and the Autistic Auto Defender Network to oppose the McMahon nomination.
The Department of Education plays a unique role for 7.5 million students in special education throughout the country. The agency sends billions in funds to the states every year to help support students with disabilities and supervise everything, from early intervention for young children with disabilities to vocational rehabilitation and ensure that the civil rights of students with disabilities are protected.
«We will be educating the new secretary about the essential role that the federal government has played to ensure that students with disabilities receive a free and appropriate public education that consistent with the Law of Education of Disabilities interprets,» said Katy Neas, CEO of the ARC of the United States, after McMahon’s confirmation.
Denise S. Marshall, CEO of the Bar Association of Parents and Defenders, or Copaa, a non -profit organization that advocates the rights of students with disabilities and their families, said that their group would support legislators to ensure that special education is maintained.
«We are focused on protecting rights and ensuring that (the) administration takes its obligations to do it seriously,» he said. “We will also press Congress to protect the financing of all parts of the idea; Ensure that the financing remains connected with all the requirements and supervision «.
