What you need to know about federal funding for special education

The U.S. Department of Education makes sure federal education laws are followed. It allocates funds to help schools provide special education programs. And it ensures that schools follow rules that protect students’ rights and give all students a fair chance at learning. 

Find out how federal funding supports special education programs. And learn what to do if your child’s school isn’t providing support.

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Related resources

• What does the Department of Education do for special education?

• The teacher isn’t following my child’s IEP. What can I do?

• What to include in a state complaint for IEP dispute resolution

Timestamps

(00:53) What the department does not do for special education

(2:47) How the department oversees special education

(06:23) How the department protects students’ rights 

Episode transcript

Julian: What's going on, OG family? This is the "Opportunity Gap," and I'm your host, Julian. Today on the show, we're gonna talk about the U.S. Department of Education. Since 1979, it's been in charge of special education across the country. Today, I'm gonna break down everything you need to know about the department and how it supports kids with disabilities.

As an assistant principal and a longtime administrator, I have some pretty intimate knowledge of how it works, and so I can tell you what it does, and what it doesn't. And I encourage anybody, as you're listening, if you have questions, please let us know. But hopefully my experience will help you break down what the department does and what doesn't.

(00:53) What the department does not do for special education

First, let's break down what the Department of Education does not do for special education, right? Like what are they not responsible for? Most of what happens in a student's education happens at the state or local levels. The department's not involved with that. That is a state-based and local-based responsibility. The Department of Education does not develop curriculum. A lot of people think that the national curriculum is being pushed into schools That's not the case. That is a local decision by local educational authorities. And in most cases, school districts have autonomy to decide what curriculum is being taught.

Secondly, the Department of Education does not decide which students receive special education services. Again, this is not something that the department gets to make a decision on. That is the local and in some cases, a state-level decision. That is not a national decision. And most importantly, and this is something that a lot of people get confused about, the Department of Education does not create or write IEPs.

Schools and school-based teams, that means you as a parent, your child, your child's teachers, and other educational authorities at the school level, and in some cases, the school district level, are the ones creating and developing and managing that IEP, that is not a U.S. Department of Education responsibility. I'll talk more about how they oversee and support special education later, but creating or writing IEPs, that's not something that the Department of Education does.

(2:47) How the department oversees special education

All right, so we know what the department does not do. What about what they actually do? So, here's how the Department of Education oversees special education. Number one, the department enforces the nation's special education law. That's the law that, if you don't remember anything else from the podcast, remember this: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, IDEA. IDEA, if you don't remember anything else, remember that is the nation, the United States Special Education Law. And that is what the Department of Education oversees.

The Department of Education also enforces Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 in schools. And so, we've done a lot of shows around the differences and the similarities between IDEA and 504s, but the Department of Education oversees or manages both of them. Just a quick reminder, IDEA, what does it do? It gives rights and protections for kids with disabilities. It covers them from birth all the way through high school graduation or age 21. So, whichever one comes first, that is covered under IDEA.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is a little bit different. It has two specific purposes. One purpose is to remove barriers for students with disabilities in K through 12 public schools. And case in point, public schools, that's a really important distinction because that might not be enforced in schools that are not considered public schools. The other portion of 504 that's really important to remember is it protects kids and adults with disabilities from discrimination. Especially discrimination in school settings, but also beyond. 504s can follow you to your places of work, and it's something that is enforced across venues, not just in schools.

Now, what else does the department also do? It also sends federal funds in the form of grants to states to use on special education programs. Congress sets the amount of money available, and that's a really key distinction. This is not something that the department decides. They don't decide where all the money goes or how much money is given. This is a congressional responsibility. Congress has to decide how much is available for the Department of Education to maintain for its funding of the various programs that it oversees.

All right, so one last thing that the Department of Education oversees in relation to special education, and this is a big one: it investigates complaints or violations. This is something that a lot of our families need to know. The Department of Education has a giant job in terms of processing all the different complaints that might be happening. Whether you feel like your child is being discriminated against, whether you feel that the school districts might not be doing what they're supposed to be doing, the Department of Education is mandated to investigate those situations.

And so, when we think about one of those big responsibilities that they have, those investigations and those judgments, and making sure that kids are getting what they need, that falls under the purview of the Department of Education.

(06:23) How the department protects students' rights

So, let's talk a little bit more about how the Department of Education specifically protects students' rights. Both IDEA, remember IDEA if you don't remember anything else from the podcast, remember, IDEA and Section 504, both of those are really big federal laws. Both of them are designed to give students with disabilities the same educational opportunities as other kids. And that's something that was put in place to ensure that students are getting what we call FAPE, or free appropriate public education.

When you look at paperwork, or when you might hear different lawsuits that are happening related to special education, you might see that acronym, FAPE. That's something to also remember, because it's something that every child in the United States is entitled to. Everybody, no matter what your disability is, no matter your status is, no matter what your situation is, whatever your race, your creed, your color, uh, your religion, whatever you are, you are entitled to a free, appropriate public education. And the Department of Education is mandated to ensure that that's happening.

The IDEA, the law, it says that schools must provide services to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities. And the goal is really to enable them to learn along with their peers as much as possible. That means that... The Department of Education ensures that schools are not segregating kids. There was a long time in our history where students who had disabilities or learning and thinking differences, they were separated from everybody else. I'm sure a lot of you that are of a certain age, you remember when kids might've been in the classroom in the basement, or maybe kids were in different spots and they didn't interact with their peers at all.

This law, IDEA, it ensures that that is not happening. It ensures that students are given as much opportunity to integrate or be included into the educational programming as their peers. And that's a really important distinction to remember. Now, Section 504, remember, 504, a little bit different. 504 protects students with disabilities from discrimination. I remember when we talk about discrimination, meaning they're not given the same as what other people are given. And that's a big problem. And so, 504 is supposed to protect against that.

And 504 essentially says, schools will need to provide support, like accommodations, that means that you're giving students the same access to their learning as their peers. And so, 504s might mean providing a student with preferential seating. I can have a 504 if I have vision problems and I have trouble seeing. In my 504, it says that "Julian, you need to sit closer to the board so you can see what's going on." Every single classroom that I go in, I'm supposed to get what the 504 says. And so, I need to set up front so I can see what's goin' on.

And if a teacher decides, "Well, I don't want them in the front. I'm gonna put them in back," that's a violation of 504. And so we wanna make sure that it's not the student who can't understand what's goin' on because they can't learn, it's just because they couldn't see. And 504 is put in place to make sure that accommodations like preferential seating are put in place so that our kids are getting what they deserve.

The Department of Education enforces these two laws, IDEA and 504, through something called the Office for Civil Rights, OCR, the Office for Civil rights. Congress set this office up exactly for the reason I stated earlier, to make that there investigations that happen to decide "Are there violations of these laws happening in places like our schools or in specific school districts?" So, if you find yourself in a situation where you might have to place a claim or you might have to file a complaint, the OCR or Office for Civil Rights are the ones that are going to be investigating that. And the Department of Education across the country manages that office to ensure that those investigations happen.

Parents, you might be wondering, "Well, what do I do if I suspect that there's a possible violation of IDEA or 504?" And don't worry, we're gonna link a whole bunch of information in the show notes, but just imagine there's this situation where you might be wandering, "Well, what do I do?" Well, you have the opportunity to file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights, or OCR, within 180 days of the school's violation. And so, we'll make sure to link the instructions for how to file that on OCR's website in the show notes. You can also check in with your state Department of Education about how to a file a complain with the state.

But the question really is, well, before I go to that route, is there anything else I can do? I would always advocate, and I say this a lot on our show, the most important thing that you can do, families, is make sure that you've built a relationship with somebody at the school that you trust. So, maybe it's a teacher, maybe it is an administrator, maybe it's a lunch lady. Somebody in that school building knows what's going on and they can give you the information you need to get what you need. And so before you go to that route of filing a complaint, that should probably be one of the last steps.

Hopefully, you've taken other steps. Maybe you've given the school a chance to resolve the issue that you're worried about. Maybe you've reached out to the administrators to see how can we figure out what the problem is. And guess what? Sometimes that doesn't work. And if that doesn't work, then you can file for a mediation where you can ask an independent agency that the state has to pay for. They can come to your aid and try to help work through what the situation is, where they can have you and the school, or a member of the school district, come to a meeting and you can resolve or potentially discuss how a resolution can happen.

And if that still doesn't work, then you might have to go all the way up to potentially filing a lawsuit. And we know lawyers are expensive, and we know that that's not always the case for everybody in terms being able to afford that. And so, many states have what we call educational advocates. And an educational advocate can come to your aid, and that they can look at your case and they can advise you on what to do. Every single state has organizations that can put you in the right direction.

And after you've done all of that, then you might be advised to file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights. But we will definitely link this in the show notes so that you know what the steps look like if you find the violation is happening. But that's a really, really important role that the Department of Education takes on. And we wanna make sure that everybody knows that.

All right, so to recap, just to make sure we're all clear, the Department of Education does not develop curriculum. They don't decide which kids get to receive special education services. They do not create or write IEPs. That is a school-based and local responsibility. What the Department of Education does do is they manage and oversee all of the special education law that's put in place. And hopefully, as you were listening, you remember, IDEA, and what are those three numbers? 504. So, make sure that you remember the Department of Education oversees and makes sure the laws are being conducted in the way they should, but most of our situations are at the local level.

And so, we would say that as families, as parents, as parenting adults, you really wanna get to know who is making decisions at the school level, find somebody that you trust. The Department of Education is here to support the nation, but a lot of the things that happen at schools are at the local level. And so, if you're not in the school building or you're not getting a chance to interact, then you're not gonna know what's happening. I would encourage you to get to know what's happening at the school level and to find somebody that you trust.

That wraps today's episode. We are going to make sure we link some additional resources in the show notes. So, be sure to check those out. Until next time, OG family! We'll see y'all out there. Thank you.

Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give.

The "Opportunity Gap" is produced by Tara Drinks and Cody Nelson. Video is produced by Calvin Knie and edited by Nico Rothenberg. Our theme music was written by Justin D. Wright, who also mixes the show. Samiah Adams is our supervising producer. Briana Berry is our production director. Neil Drumming is our editorial director. From Understood.org, our executive directors are Laura Key, Scott Cocchiere, Seth Melnick, and Jordan Davidson. Thanks again for listening.