DeVos Proposes Delay of Vital Special Education Rule

WASHINGTON—Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement in response to the Department of Education’s proposal to delay implementation of a rule that enforces the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

“Once again, Secretary DeVos has chosen to shirk her responsibility to protect the civil rights of America’s children. The decision to seek delay of this key special education regulation is mean-spirited, reckless, and unnecessary. There is widespread support for the rule. More than 100 organizations support it and 15,000 favorable comments were submitted to the department. While DeVos tries to talk a good game on civil rights, when push comes to shove, she is simply unwilling to take the necessary action to make those rights real for the nation’s children.”

On December 6, 2017, The Leadership Conference sent a letter signed by more than 100 organizations to the department in support of the regulation that implements the IDEA’s significant disproportionality requirements and in opposition to any effort to delay implementation of this regulation. The letter can be read in its entirety here.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.