Senate Committee Advances Consequential Legislation for Students with Disabilities

S. 5038, the Special Education Administration Protection Act, sponsored by HELP Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA), would prohibit the transfer of OSERS to HHS while allowing ED to move it to another agency. Cassidy said the bill was not intended to prevent Secretary of Education Linda McMahon from relocating OSERS; however, he expressed concern that special education would not be a priority within HHS, the largest non-defense agency. CEC agrees that HHS is the wrong place for OSERS but disagrees that it should be transferred to another agency. Lacking support from other Committee members, he did not seek a vote on the proposal. 

S. 5046 (no bill title) would prohibit the transfer of OSERS, along with the Offices of Elementary and Secondary Education, Postsecondary Education, and Indian Education, to other Federal agencies. The bipartisan bill is the product of an agreement between bill sponsors Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Susan Collins (R-ME), who noted that moving these offices from ED is "misaligned with their program purposes." During debate on the bill, Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) delivered impassioned remarks about the federal role in supporting her son with disabilities while he was in school. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) offered two amendments to include other ED offices in the bill, notably the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Both amendments failed on party lines with Democrats in favor and Republicans opposed. CEC supports preserving ED and has raised objections to moving OCR to the Justice Department. The bill was approved by the Committee by a vote of 13-9, with Murkowski and Collins joining all Democrats and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) not present or voting.

S. 3010, the 21st Century Dyslexia Act, sponsored by Cassidy, would create a separate category of disability for dyslexia under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and define dyslexia based on the IQ discrepancy model. Learning disabilities specialists and advocates, including CEC and its Division for Learning Disabilities, agree that children with dyslexia can be better served in schools, but have long opposed the approach in S. 3010, advocating instead for a better investment in teacher preparation, professional development, and technical assistance. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) spoke in support of the latter approach, and Hassan sympathized with the bill's goals but could not support it. Despite tireless advocacy, the bill passed by a vote of 12-10, with bill cosponsor Senator John Hickenlooper, who has a dyslexia diagnosis, joining all Republicans on the panel to advance the measure. Despite its passage, Cassidy pledged to keep the door open to constructive discussion with Hassan and other stakeholders.

S. 3589, the Respond, Innovate, Succeed, and Empower (RISE) Act, sponsored by Senators Jim Banks (R-IN) and Hassan, would make it easier for students in postsecondary institutions to receive support for disabilities by requiring institutions to adopt policies that make individualized education programs and 504 plans among acceptable documents for demonstrating that a student has a disability. CEC has endorsed the RISE Act in the past. The bill advanced unanimously, 22-0.