IEP, 504, IDEA...What does it all mean?

All students deserve an education

Yesterday we talked about the Department of Education, how it came to be, and what American education was like before the creation of a federal department. And now today, several media sources are reporting that President Trump will sign an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education. We will bring you more news if the executive order is signed, but first let’s dive a little deeper into one of the main functions of the Department of Education — ensuring all students have access to an equitable public education, including students with physical or learning disabilities.

When a student needs additional help due to a disability, they receive an IEP, or individualized education plan. An IEP is a formal plan that describes the special education services a student will receive to meet their personal need. It could explain what teacher or specialist the student will work with, how many hours per week they’ll get that instruction, or what type of accommodations they might need - like a quieter room for testing, or extra time for learning and testing. We shared this video of Adrienne speaking about IEPs last month, but unfortunately it’s more relevant now than ever.

An IEP is protected by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA. For reference, this is the law that Secretary of Education Linda McMahon couldn’t name when she was on Fox News.

Students can also receive a 504 plan, which is less detailed, but provides similar accommodations for students with disabilities. 504 plans are part of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which is a civil rights law to protect against discrimination, in this case discrimination in education.

Normally when parents or students have issues with their IEP or 504 not being followed, they can appeal all the way up to the Office of Civil Rights, within the Department of Education. Recently with the inauguration of President Trump, many of these cases have been put on hold. It’s important to note, this often happens with a new administration, but because every day a case stays on hold means another day that a student is not receiving their education, these individual cases are usually heard fairly quickly. Unfortunately, for many families their cases are still on hold. And these delays will become more extreme if Trump dismantles the Department of Education.

So what will happen if we don’t have a federal Department of Education to protect the rights of all students to access education? Will we go back to a time when students with disabilities or learning challenges were left behind? Will we expect parents to pick up the slack and educate their own children? Yesterday on the podcast, we shared stories of real students, whose academic success was made possible by an IEP or 504. Parents across the country are right to be extremely concerned about what this will mean for their children’s education.