American Enterprise Institute Report Recommends Increasing Special Education Funding through School Choice

In a new report, A Grand Bargain to Reform the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: Shifting from Due Process to Education Choice, author Dan Lips calls for a bipartisan reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that would offer a compromise for IDEA funders and school-choice advocates alike. 

The report reviews funding shortfalls that have made IDEA implementation challenging and inequitable, ultimately resulting in civil rights violations. It also elevates current support for school choice, noting “students living in states with education choice programs may access alternative learning environments without the need to prevail in due process litigation against their school district.” Thus, the report recommends that Congress “restructure IDEA to provide additional funding for states with choice programs,” for example through a new grant program in IDEA Part D.

CEC has long supported fully funding IDEA and co-chairs the IDEA Full Funding Coalition. However, CEC opposes using public funds for vouchers and voucher-like programs because students lose their IDEA rights in a parentally placed private school setting.

To view the report, go here.