House Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing Focuses on Special Education

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Heath and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies held a hearing on Wednesday titled Federal Investment in Elementary Education. The hearing focused on federal education dollars, namely the two largest funding streams, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and Title I.

Testimony was provided by Ms. Virginia Gentles, Director, Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies; Dr. Lindsey Burke, Director of the Center for Education Policy, The Heritage Foundation and author of the education section of Project 2025; Mr. Robert Kim, Executive Director, Education Law Center; and Ms. Starlee Coleman, President and CEO, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

Most witnesses expressed frustration with special education and asserted that funds should be allocated in a way that better serves students. The three majority witnesses recommended Congress support voucher systems, school choice, and charter schools. Mr. Kim, the minority witness, disagreed with the others, referencing the lack of federal oversight for private schools and its impact on students with disabilities. While all four voiced support for special education funding, Dr. Burke recommended that education dollars be disbursed to other agencies, with IDEA housed with Health and Human Services.

Mr. Kim countered that the responsibility for ensuring equal access for the most vulnerable students runs through the U.S. Department of Education. He added, “not only do we need to be worried about IDEA funding being reduced, but also converted into block grants or vouchers because that would then frustrate the IDEA itself because those entities receiving those grants, if they remained for special education purposes, would no longer be subject to the IDEA. It could lead to an exodus from the civil rights protections that this federal government has erected over the past fifty years.”

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