IDEA Report Cards: Did Your State Pass or Fail?
by Pamela Wright, MA, MSW

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When Congress reauthorized the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, they added new requirements about state accountability. One of these requirements is that states will be evaluated on how well they educate children with disabilities.

In this article, we will describe state performance plans that are used to "rank" states, share our predictions for the future (and our reasoning). We pose questions for individuals who work at the federal Education Department and state departments of education.

State Performance Plans

How does this process work?

IDEA 2004 requires all states to develop Performance Plans to evaluate how well the state is implementing IDEA and how the state will improve. States are required to report the performance of every local school district to the public. States must make this report available to the public by posting it on the website of the state department of education and distributing it to the media. 20 U.S.C. 1416(b)(1) (Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 2nd Edition, pages 125-126)

IDEA Report Cards

Last week, the U.S. Department of Education published Report Cards for the 50 states and 8 territories. The news is sobering.

Only nine states met the minimum standards for educating children with disabilities. Forty-one states and eight territories fell into the “needs assistance” or “needs intervention” categories. If these states do not significantly improve how they are educating children with disabilities, they face sanctions, including loss of federal funds.

Weaknesses cited by the U.S. Department of Education include:

• States failing to ensure that local school districts comply with the law
• States failing to comply with requirements for providing transition plans from school to college or work

What information did the feds use to grade the states? The data about compliance with IDEA was submitted by the states. The data did not come from independent, objective sources.

Did your state pass or fail on the IDEA Report Card? This Fact Sheet lists the status of all states and territories.

Since the reports are based on data provided by the states being graded, we urge you to take these assessments with a grain - no, with a handful of salt.

Predictions

What will happen next? Will states take this feedback seriously and clean up their acts?

We doubt it. Here is our prediction, based on what states do when they are under pressure to make changes and improve.

States that need to improve will pull their wagons in the circle and develop game plans. They may attempt to persuade their citizens that they didn't really fail. They may pitch the tired old argument that it is unreasonable to expect schools to educate children with disabilities.

School lobbyists may attempt to persuade members of Congress to eliminate this provision when the law is reauthorized.

A few states may file lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Education, claiming that this provision of the law is unfair to them, while also requesting more money.

Why are we pessimistic about the willingness of the U.S. Department of Education to enforce the law?

Back to School on Civil Rights: Advancing the Federal Commitment to Leave No Child Behind

"Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it." - Winston Churchill

In 2000, the National Council on Disability (NCD) published, Back to School on Civil Rights Advancing the Federal Commitment to Leave No Child Behind. Back to School on Civil Rights is a shattering report about the complete failure of the U.S. Department of Education to enforce IDEA.

Back to School on Civil Rights was based a review of the Department of Education’s (DoED) reports of states between 1994 and 1998. NCD found:

"Every State was out of compliance with IDEA requirements to some degree; in the sampling of states studied, noncompliance persisted over many years."

NCD found that "enforcement of the law is the burden of parents who must invoke formal complaint procedures and due process hearings, including expensive and time-consuming litigation, to obtain the appropriate services and supports that their children are entitled under the law."

NCD concluded, "The Department of Education has made very limited use of its authority to impose enforcement sanctions such as withholding of funds or making referrals to the Department of Justice, despite persistent failures to ensure compliance in many states."

Questions for the Federal and State Departments of Ed

We have a few questions for individuals who work for the fed U.S. Department of Education and state departments of education.

1. While you discuss these minimal accountability requirements, what will happen to the millions of children with disabilities whose schools are not preparing them "to lead productive and independent lives" as Congress intended - children who attend schools that are not preparing them "for further education, employment, and independent living?" 20 U.S.C. § 1400(c)

Thoughts?

2. While you are attending meetings and writing reports based on self-reported data, what will happen to the millions of children with disabilities who are being damaged by their school experiences? What will happen to children whose teachers do not have the knowledge, skills, and time to teach these children?

Suggestions?

3. While you strive to maintain the status quo, what will happen to the millions of children with disabilities whose self concept is so damaged that they drop out of school, and are never able "to lead productive and independent lives"?

Any ideas about how to help these young people?

We welcome ideas, suggestions and answers to these questions.

More Resources

This article from the U.S. Department of Education outlines the new IDEA requirements about issuing state progress reports and includes links to report cards for each state.

Education Department says states aren't meeting special-ed law's requirements (article in the San Diego Union-Tribune/Associated Press)

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