A Message to Families Whose Children Have Special Needs
We at Southern Legal Counsel understand that families whose children have special needs are concerned about recent Executive Orders that threaten the U.S. Department of Education and about potential impacts on the protections federal law currently provides students with disabilities.
We want to assure you that, regardless of the threats being made to the federal Department of Education by the current administration, it would take an act of Congress to undo the protections afforded to students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or Section 504 the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
These laws place obligations on state and local school districts to serve and accommodate all students, and those obligations will continue regardless of the fate of the Department of Education.
Southern Legal Counsel has, from its beginning in 1977, focused much of its advocacy on the special needs of children. This includes ensuring that children with behavioral and other disabilities receive appropriate educational opportunities and nondiscriminatory treatment in schools.
SLC will continue to fight to protect the rights of students with disabilities to receive appropriate educational services. And we hope you will support us in this fight, as it has never been more important.
We will continue to represent students around Florida to make sure that school districts follow state and federal laws under the IDEA. We will continue to advocate for kids with complex medical needs and for kids with invisible disabilities that get dismissed as discipline problems. We still believe that every child deserves a supportive learning environment where they can thrive.
About Executive Orders
Executive Orders are documents through which the President can manage the operations of the federal government. A few important facts to keep in mind: (1) Executive Orders must be grounded in existing law and constitutional authority, and they cannot be used to effectuate something that is unconstitutional or conflicts with existing laws; (2) Executive Orders are subject to judicial review, meaning they can be blocked by the courts (as many executive orders have been); and (3) the implementation of Executive Orders is rarely immediate, as the document’s function is to provide directives to federal agencies, each of which then has to then conduct assessments and take actions (such as rulemaking) to implement or enforce the directive.
About Congressional Authority
Congress has granted power over the curriculum to states, districts, schools and classroom teachers. Only an act of Congress could change this, not an executive order or unilateral executive action. The bottom line is this: the IDEA requires that special education and related services be based on the individual needs of each child and designed to provide a free and appropriate education; and Section 504 requires that every child have equal access to schools, regardless of a disability.
About Funding
Federal funding under the IDEA is paid to the states, and each state then appropriates to school districts. Funding for special education in Florida for the current 2024-2025 school year was budgeted by the 2024 Florida Legislature. Regardless of what happens at the federal level, your school district’s budget for this school year cannot be changed. The 2025 Florida Legislature begins March 4, 2025, and will determine the budget for the 2025-2026 school year. Again, regardless of what happens to the federal Department of Education, the state of Florida must provide for special education funds to Florida school districts. Once the budget is signed into law by the Governor in May 2025, no Executive Order could change Florida’s funding for the next school year.