Articles

Your Turn

Jennifer J. Lesh

The federal government is threatening to dismantle special education. If we care about the 8 million students with dyslexia, autism, Down syndrome, and other disabilities, Floridians cannot allow this to happen.

After nearly four decades of teaching in special education in Florida, I know generations of Florida children that have reached their God-given potential because of our special education programs.

I’m thinking about Steve (not his real name), an 11th grader I worked with who still, at age 17, couldn’t read. I worked with him three times a week using a phonics-based reading program. Within six weeks, he was sounding out sounds and connecting them together to make whole words. I cried as Steve tapped out the sounds and said the words on a poster that read: ‘… believe in yourself and you can do anything.’ Today, Steve is a longshoreman.

While Florida special educators do the hard work every day, we have been able to bring out the best in our students because the federal Department of Education has had our backs, but that support is now under threat. For decades, the department has supported special education teachers like me through teacher preparation, professional development, parental support, and more. But that’s all on the chopping block, and it’s our kids who will suffer.

The federal Office of Special Education Programs and the Office for Civil Rights are now practically gone. These were the lifelines for students’ rights, enforcing federal law, and making sure children with disabilities could reach their full potential.

Florida’s children with disabilities have never had it easy, despite the commitment of teachers and families. Iin 2018, the Office of Special Education Programs found that Florida was violating federal law by placing students with disabilities in restrictive environments without any justifiable reason. That violation was not uncovered by the state, but by federal oversight. In the end, our state’s children will pay the cost, through stunted opportunities and complicated systems with no place for families to seek remedies.

The loss of federal oversight would be especially devastating for students with disabilities in rural districts such as Okeechobee, Hendry, Glades, and DeSoto counties. These communities already face disproportionate challenges: limited access to specialized personnel, fewer resources for inclusive programming, and greater distances to access services.

As a lifelong educator in this field, I cannot remain silent while the landmark law that protects students with disabilities is being dismantled before my eyes. Every child, regardless of ability or geography, deserves access to a free and appropriate public education. That is the promise of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,, and it must be upheld, for the dignity and opportunity that children with disabilities deserve.

I urge Florida’s leaders and every member of Congress to protect our nation’s special education law, including the people who oversee it. Our children’s futures depend on it.

Jennifer J. Lesh has taught special education in Palm Beach County for 26 years and is past president of the Council for Exceptional Children.