PROTECTING EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

On 2026-01-13, Representative Gwen Moore (D-WI-4) delivered a floor speech titled "PROTECTING EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES" in the House. The speech addressed taxes and also covered the environment, trade policy.

PROTECTING EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 9 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026)] [House] [Pages H698-H705] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] PROTECTING EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES (Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Mrs. Hayes of Connecticut was recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.) General Leave Mrs. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of the Special Order. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from Connecticut? There was no objection. Mrs. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to lead this Special Order hour [[Page H699]] and to speak about a matter of great importance to millions of American children. With everything going on, it is easy to overlook what is happening at the Department of Education. Today, I would like to highlight the concerns of parents who have children living with disabilities. They are scared, concerned, and confused. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, is the Federal law that ensures children with disabilities receive a free and appropriate public education tailored to their unique learning needs. IDEA provides services to children from birth to age 21. Since its enactment in 1975, IDEA focused on providing children with disabilities the same educational opportunities as all other students. It allows the 7.5 million children living with disabilities who rely on services to receive early intervention and remain in the least restrictive environments alongside their nondisabled peers. It provides grants and helps parents with their rights and to know what is legally required of schools to develop individualized educational plans, detailing specific goals, services, and support for students. IDEA requires that teachers be highly qualified with ongoing training, ensuring they meet the unique needs of students with disabilities. These services are there to provide students with postsecondary education, employment, and independent living. IDEA addresses past failures to educate students with disabilities. I am old enough to remember a time when students with special needs were educated in the basement of schools or outright denied entry. Before IDEA, millions of children with disabilities were denied an education and often refused admission to schools or even programs. Today, children with disabilities are able to attend any public school and receive services at no cost to their parents. They have legal and civil rights protections for their children under this landmark law. On March 20, 2025, the President signed an executive order directing the Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, to facilitate the dismantling of the Department of Education, which raises significant questions about the future of IDEA and the impact on the education of these 7.5 million children. The students who would be hurt the most by weakening the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act are the children who are the most vulnerable. In nearly every State, public schools are primarily funded by State and local governments with local property taxes playing a crucial role. Without IDEA and Federal resources, these students could end up in underfunded schools that lack resources, expertise, or accountability to provide the special education services and supports they require. IDEA is Federal law, which means that even without funding from the Department of Education, State and local districts will have to figure out how they will make up this deficit. They will still have to provide services and likely have to cut other programs. This could mean a student with dyslexia would no longer receive daily reading interventions. A student who was deaf or hard of hearing would not have a sign language interpreter. A student who just needed a little bit of speech therapy in order to be a part of the class would not have that, making it nearly impossible to follow daily lessons or participate in discussions. Weakening IDEA would not only cut funding or reduce services, but it would threaten the future of these students who with just the right amount of support and accommodations could thrive. The stakes are too high. We must protect the Department of Education, and we must protect IDEA. This administration has yet to lay out any detailed plan for the future of IDEA. I have serious concerns about moving services for students with disabilities to HHS because then they are only being viewed through a medical lens. They would only be diagnosed and would not be seen as students first and given the resources they needed to survive. Today, I would like to elevate the stories of my colleagues who have children and families living in their district who rely so heavily on the services that the Federal Government provides. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Adams), a member of the Committee on Education and Workforce. Ms. ADAMS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Hayes) for yielding time. I thank her for her unwavering support of children and for having been the National Teacher of the Year. I thank her so much. Mr. Speaker, I rise because dismantling the Department of Education is not just bad policy. It is dangerous for North Carolina's children. In my State, more than 60 percent of students rely on Pell grants and Federal aid to afford college. Nearly 1.5 million K-12 students depend on title I IDEA school nutrition and other Federal supports. In Charlotte-Mecklenburg, over 70 percent of students benefit directly from programs administered through the Department. When the Department is gutted, when staff are fired, grants are frozen, and financial aid systems break, it is our most vulnerable young people who feel it first. These are low-income students, first-generation students, students with disabilities, and families who cannot afford disruptions. This isn't efficiency. It is an educational disarmament. I am proud to defend the Department of Education because protecting the Department means protecting opportunity. Mrs. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Adams for her remarks. As she noted, I was a classroom teacher for over 15 years. I know exactly how important these resources and supports are. I had students who had severe learning disabilities but who were able to thrive with the appropriate accommodations and the resources and support in the classroom. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to note that in my State of Connecticut, in 2025, we received approximately $160 million from the Federal Government in order to facilitate services for students with exceptionalities. A State like Connecticut would have to fill that gap in order to make sure these students continue to receive services. What is happening with the Department of Education is of grave concern to me. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bynum). Ms. BYNUM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Hayes) for bringing us together to stand up for children with disabilities. Mr. Speaker, if I were to not pay something I owed for 50 years, the consequences would be tremendous. That is exactly what the Federal Government has done with the IDEA, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. {time} 1850 In 1976, just a year after I was born, Congress promised to pay for 40 percent of the cost of public education for children with disabilities. Yet, here we are in 2026. I am 50, almost 51, but the Federal Government is paying less than 12 percent. In my home State of Oregon, that means a $315 million gap between the funding that our students are getting and the amount that these schools are owed. On top of that, it has been credibly reported that the Trump administration has started dismantling the Department of Education, including the staff who oversee these IDEA programs. Now the program is both underfunded and there is no one there to send the money out. That is why earlier this Congress, I introduced the IDEA Full Funding Act. I urge my colleagues to join me in finally giving our students with disabilities exactly what they are owed. Mrs. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Oregon for her support. To the gentlewoman's point, the IDEA has never been fully funded as the Federal Government promised. In the State of Oregon, they received $162 million in 2025, which is just a fraction of what it costs to educate students with special needs. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Mannion). Mr. MANNION. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share what is at stake for students with disabilities as this administration continues its attacks on the Department of Education. Last year, one of our Nation's most fundamental laws, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, [[Page H700]] reached its 50th anniversary. IDEA opened the doors to opportunities and protected the rights of millions of students with disabilities and their families. It guaranteed a free, appropriate public education where students with disabilities could learn in the least restrictive environment and with the proper support. Before this landmark piece of legislation, generations of students with disabilities were routinely denied equal access to education. As a teacher for almost 30 years and the founding chairman of the New York State Senate Disabilities Committee, I have seen firsthand how IDEA has transformed lives and what it means to families. Yet, for all of the progress that we have made, much work still remains, and IDEA is still more at risk today than it has ever been. This administration has recklessly conducted mass layoffs across the Department of Education, with no regard for the impacts on programs,