A Center for Public Integrity analysis of education data suggests roughly 300,000 homeless students entitled to essential rights have slipped through the cracks.
Mackinac Center for Public Policy
The end of November marked the 45th anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act going into effect. The federal law enshrined the idea that every child with a disability is entitled to a meaningful education that is as inclusive as possible. Even though time has changed many perceptions of what students with disabilities can achieve, many people have been dissatisfied with the progress we’ve made in fulfilling the vision.
This year’s experiences with pandemic learning have only mounted the frustrations.
The sudden onset of COVID-19, with its many unknowns, challenged schools’ ability to help students with special learning challenges. Many people, including the Onyx family in Oakland County, have pleaded for face-to-face educational opportunities, calling them indispensable. Both of their children need consistent access to aides and therapies that were suddenly denied to them when school buildings closed in the spring.