The basic principle that all children in the United States should receive access to quality education was supposed to be decided by Brown v Board of Education. We all know that this is a theory, not a practice, and ideal, not a reality, even in 2018. Policies like redlining, discriminatory lending, and down right coercion have protected segregation in our schools. Study after study shows that schools integrated on a variety of factors (race, class, ability, and gender) benefit all the students in the school.
However, the DeVos Department of Education is dead set on destroying public education, one facet at a time. Today she eliminated a whopping 72 guidance documents that help parents of differently-abled kids navigate their rights and responsibilities within the public education system.
From the Washington Post, "The special education guidance documents rescinded this month clarified the rights of disabled students in a number of areas, including making clear how schools could spend federal money set aside for special education."https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2017/10/21/devos-rescinds-72-guidance-documents-outlining-rights-for-disabled-students/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.dd6741cadb6b
As the parent of an Autistic daughter, I am here to tell you that it is not easy to understand what options are available to your child. I'm grateful for any clarification and guidance that I can get, and I am sure the administrators running my daughter's school are too. I'm scared for the parents in school districts who don't care about their children, and what the boards might opt to do with that federal money now that there's no clarification on what can be done with it. I have a hard time believing that "compassionate conservatives" will care what happens to these children, except to bemoan how many of them are on public assistance when they are adults. Don't get me started on the threats to cut Social Security.
By appointing someone who bought her position, this administration, and the Congress that supports him, are dismantling what few social safety nets we have. It's all part of the plan to keep the poor poor, while the rich get richer.