AJR 7: Special education funding: protection.

WHEREAS, The federal government plays a vital role in ensuring that California students, particularly those students with the greatest needs, including students with disabilities, receive the education to which they are entitled; and

WHEREAS, The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) provides a free and appropriate education to eligible children with disabilities. California receives over $1,500,000,000 in federal IDEA funding to support special education and related services. Further, federal Medicaid funding plays a crucial role in assisting with the cost of providing education-related services like speech therapy and physical therapy for eligible students with disabilities; and

WHEREAS, The federal government is critical to the protection and defense of the rights of students with disabilities. Families trust and rely on the government to ensure that their children receive a free appropriate public education, as required by federal law; and

WHEREAS, California has over 700 cases pending with the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, and nearly 400 of these cases address disability discrimination. Justice will be delayed or denied for hundreds of families given the lack of enforcement capacity due to the abrupt reduction in the department’s workforce and the closure of regional offices; and

WHEREAS, Funding cuts to federal programs that support students with disabilities will have significant and detrimental educational impacts; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature calls on members of the United States Congress to oppose reductions to funding that negatively impact educational services for students with disabilities; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature calls on the President of the United States and Congress to ensure that services and funding for students with disabilities are uninterrupted, including the allocation, monitoring, and management of IDEA formula funding and discretionary grant-funded programs; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the author for appropriate distribution.