What happened to Obama promise of full special ed funding?
Saturday, May 9th, 2009President’s budget proposal shows no sign of IDEA campaign pledge
Alyson Klein writes in Education Week (subscription required) that President Barack Obama’s first budget proposal would boost U.S. Department of Education spending by 2.8 percent. “But — not counting massive one-time increases in the recent economic-stimulus legislation—the plan also provides no more than level-funding for special education,” she writes.
While on the campaign trail last year, presidential candidate Obama declared his support for “fully funding” the federal government’s commitment to special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
That promise seemed to waver when Obama took office, with the White House website edging away from the commitment to “full funding” and replacing it with a promise to seek unspecified “funding” for IDEA.
And yesterday, the Obama administration appeared to dismiss the campaign promise altogether in the budget proposal by maintaining special education funding at historic levels. Yet, the disability “issues” page currently displayed on the White House website still carries a pledge to “expand funding for programs like the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) that ensure all Americans have access to the tools to succeed.”
The dispute over special education funding is a heated one that has been going on almost since the IDEA was signed into law in 1975. (more…)



