To the editor:

Of the many recent proposals coming out of the White House, the one that haunts me in particular is the unwinding of the fabric of our Department of Education, including cutting funding and removing the enforcement of legislation established to protect and provide for students who have different kinds of challenges.  

My daughter is now 34 years old so any deconstruction of American education will be like the bridge crumbling behind us, but I know the importance of the structures that have been built in our education system to ensure free and appropriate education for all students of all abilities. Specifically, I am talking about IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), the cornerstone legislation (enacted in 1975) that provides legal remedies for families and ensures funding for services provided for students’ education from age 3 to 21 years old.  

When my daughter was in first grade she began having seizures and suffered significant cognitive regression. Even as the seizures were controlled, she had tenacious learning disabilities and qualified for special education services, an IEP, and a classroom aid to assist her. Without IDEA and the federal funding, she would never have had the qualified teachers, academic interventions, and small special education classes that were imperative to her success. 

The current threat to IDEA stems from the March 20, 2025 Executive Order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. This action will give each state authority over education and all it entails including funding, curriculum, textbooks, assessments of proficiency, special education services, and teacher education requirements. It will likely lead to serious underfunding of essential special education programs, understaffing, and the poor implementation of legal and academic rights under IDEA. Imagine an entire population of students without the support they need to be successful, contributing members of society. Most parents cannot afford the burden of paying for interventions, tutors, assistive technology, and other essential services. Lasting consequences could well be a generation of underperforming, vulnerable students, unable to achieve their potential, whatever that is. Let’s hope that our legislators continue to fight for our children, their education, and the rights of the next generation. 

Paige Barbour

Barrington