During its 50th year, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is under attack. Disabled students are more vulnerable than ever in the face of threats to funding, services, and federal protections, alongside layoffs to federal civil servants who oversee the administration of these crucial programs.
Before IDEA, disabled children were often denied access to educational opportunities and segregated into institutions that were rife with abuse and neglect. Institutionalization peaked around the mid-20th century: In 1967, 228,843 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities were institutionalized, and in 1955, 558,992 people with psychological disabilities were living in county- or state-run facilities. In the 1960s and ‘70s, journalists and politicians visited these institutions, unveiling the cruel conditions these people were forced to endure. U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY) visited New York’s notorious Willowbrook State School and stated: “There are no civil liberties for those put in the cells of Willowbrook—living amidst brutality and human excrement and intestinal disease.”
A movement to deinstitutionalize disabled people gained traction after these horror stories came to light. In order to help integrate disabled children, Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) in 1975, which legislated civil rights protections and promised funding for services to ensure disabled people from infancy to age 21 had access to a free appropriate public education. Congress promised to increase funding for disability services until 1982, when the federal contribution would cap at 40 percent per fiscal year. Later, the EHA was renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) under a reauthorization in 1990; and the law was reauthorized again in 2004, with some regulatory changes. Yet it has never been funded at levels adequate to provide comprehensive services to all eligible children and students. For example, the federal budget for IDEA Part B grants last year stood at approximately 10.9 percent. States often must supplement funding for their IDEA services by utilizing federal Medicaid dollars—established in 1965—as well as by dedicating a portion of funding to services for disabled children and adults.
Before IDEA, almost 1.8 million disabled students were completely blocked from educational opportunities. In 1970, only 1 in 5 disabled children received an education. But since IDEA’s passage, the number of disabled students and children receiving IDEA services and attending school has continued to rise. In the 2022–23 school year, 7.6 million students participated in IDEA Part B services. Yet rather than expand needed resources, the Trump administration and Congress have pushed for funding cuts, U.S. Department of Education layoffs, and instability within a system designed to support and protect disabled students.
IDEA: The nuts and bolts
- Part A covers the general provisions of IDEA, congressional findings pertinent to the law, and definitions that help interpret its requirements. These definitions include “child with a disability,” “specific learning disability,” “free appropriate public education,” “individualized education program,” “local educational agency,” “related services,” “special education,” “supplementary aids and services,” “transition services,” and “excess costs.”
- Part B covers assistance for providing a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment for children with disabilities ages 3 to 21. Part B, Section 619 focuses on services for preschool-aged children. The grant programs authorized under Part B provide funding to states and local education agencies to support the provision of special education for children with disabilities.
- Part C provides funding for early intervention services for infants and toddlers who show signs of developmental delays or disabilities. The Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP), generated for a family whose child receives early intervention services, outlines which services they will receive and functionally serves as the precursor to an individualized education plan (IEP), for which the child might qualify in order to receive preschool special education under Part B, along with additional special education services as they progress through the school system. Unlike other means-tested programs, a child with a disability or developmental delay is entitled to early intervention services, but substantive administrative and logistical barriers block access. In fact, only about half of children who are referred wind up enrolled in services.
- Part D includes provisions for federal grants available to support activities related to improving services for children with disabilities, including personnel development, technical assistance and dissemination, technology, and parent training and information centers.
Key statistics and facts about IDEA
- When IDEA was enacted, Congress committed to fund 40 percent of the average per-pupil cost for special education. The federal share is now less than 12 percent, meaning that states and localities are forced to make up the difference.
- IDEA funding gaps vary widely by state:
- There is a $400 million funding gap in Alabama, a $1 billion funding gap in Florida, and a $4.5 billion funding gap in California.
- Leaving the provision and oversight of special education services to states—which vary widely in their ability to adequately support this population of learners—risks exacerbating educational inequality. For example, unlike other Western states such as Oregon, Utah, and Washington, Idaho does not provide state funding for special education services beyond the required per-pupil amount.
- Texas imposed its own 8.5 percent cap on who can qualify for special education services in each district, resulting in the denial of potentially eligible students’ disability evaluations and special education services.
- IDEA’s national funding shortfall for 2024 to 2025 was $38.66 billion, meaning schools are operating with 28 percent less than the government’s initial commitment.
- IDEA serves children as young as infants and toddlers, but only about half of young children with disabilities or developmental delays who are referred for early intervention services are enrolled in Part C. This is likely to do with administrative barriers, such as the inability to access developmental evaluations that would make the child eligible, and lack of information on specific services provided to eligible children.
- Some policy levers, including automatic enrollment for children who are admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) after premature births or birth complications, help to increase participation in services; but broadly, access to early intervention is limited, particularly for children under the age of 1.
- During the 2022–23 school year, 7.6 million students between the ages of 3 and 21 received Part B special education and related services through IDEA.
- Rates of IDEA-eligible students have increased by 9.4 percent from 2020 to 2023, resulting in an additional 678,032 students receiving services. In total, 7.9 million students were eligible for IDEA services in 2023.
- Within 20 years, from 1995 to 2015, students utilizing IDEA services increased their high school graduation rates from 57.1 percent to roughly 65 percent.
- Due to federal underfunding of IDEA services, schools rely on Medicaid to cover the costs of support, such as nursing services and mental and behavioral health services provided by school psychologists and counselors. Medicaid supports approximately $7.5 billion in K-12 health services annually, making it the fourth-largest federal funding stream for K-12 public schools.
- As private voucher programs grow at the state and federal level, students with disabilities are at risk of discrimination and denial of a quality education. Private schools are not required to follow IDEA. Students with disabilities lose full protections of IDEA when utilizing vouchers for private schools.
- Extended school year (ESY) services—mandated under IDEA for students whose skills would regress without continued support—allow eligible students to receive specialized instruction beyond the regular academic year to maintain progress and prevent regression.
Ways to take action in support of IDEA
- Share stories on social media to uplift the needs of disabled children and students, or use some of the sample posts below. Make sure to post every day around 3:00 p.m. using the hashtag #IDEA50
- Call your elected officials and urge them to protect IDEA funding and staff to ensure children with disabilities continue to receive the services they need.
- Read about two recent congressional legislative proposals that would provide full funding for IDEA:
- IDEA Full Funding Act (S. 1277, H.R. 2598): Provides mandatory funding for IDEA through bipartisan support
- Keep Our Promise to America’s Children and Teachers (PACT) Act (S. 343, H.R. 869): Provides mandatory funding for Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I, Part A and IDEA
- Write op-eds about what IDEA has meant to you, your family, or your community.
- Share CAP or your own resources, such as those provided below, to help distribute up-to-date data, make known the implications of federal actions, and share policy recommendations for state and local leaders to help support and protect disabled children and students amid federal rollbacks to funding and critical staff.
Examples of social media posts
Week of action:
- Join the #IDEA50 Week of Action! Share your story, tag your members of Congress, and call for full funding of special education services. #FundIDEA
- 50 years of progress: Now’s the time to strengthen IDEA, not weaken it. Join advocates across the country for the #IDEA50 Week of Action.
General:
- Cuts to the Office of Special Education Programs and threats to move IDEA oversight out of the Department of Education jeopardize decades of progress. We must protect IDEA. #IDEA50
- IDEA is a civil rights law. Protect it. Fund it. Celebrate it. #IDEA50
- Inclusion isn’t optional—it’s a civil right. IDEA guarantees students with disabilities can learn in the least restrictive environment alongside their peers. #IDEA50
- From preschool through high school, IDEA ensures access, equity, and individualized support for every child. #IDEA50
Statistics:
- Fifty years ago, Congress passed IDEA to end the exclusion of disabled children from public schools. Today, that promise is under threat from inadequate funding and policy rollbacks. #IDEA50
- Before IDEA, more than 1.8 million disabled children were denied education altogether. The Trump administration plans to allow history to repeat itself. #IDEA50
- Congress promised to cover 40 percent of special education costs under IDEA. Today, it covers less than 12 percent. Disabled students deserve full funding, not broken promises. #IDEA50
- When Congress underfunds IDEA, schools are forced to stretch resources and students lose essential support. It’s time to make good on the 40 percent commitment. #IDEA50
Ages 0 through 3:
- Every child deserves the chance to grow and thrive from birth. IDEA makes that possible through early intervention and family support. #IDEA50
Pre-K through eighth grade:
- Protecting IDEA and Medicaid funding is essential to ensuring timely identification of students with disabilities and evaluating them for necessary services. #IDEA50
Ninth grade through 12th grade:
- IDEA provides planning and services to disabled students to help them transition from school to work, college, and community life. Protect IDEA’s promise for the next generation. #IDEA50
- Disabled people are two times more likely to live in poverty. IDEA helps disabled students prepare for success beyond the classroom—college, jobs, and community life. #IDEA50
Social media graphics
The authors would like to thank Will Roberts, Jared Bass, Peter Gordon, and Alex Cogan for their review; Allie Preston for her fact-checking; and CAP’s Editorial and Legal teams for their guidance.