For Immediate Release
07/04/2018
Contact: David Card
202.408.9514 x122
[email protected]
Washington, DC – In response to recent actions taken by the Department of Education (ED), National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) Executive Director Curt Decker issued the following statement:
“Last week, ED delayed a regulation intended to help prevent racial disproportionality in special education (for students ages 3 through 20), which was supported by 83 percent of the people who responded to a request for comment and were comprised of students, parents, school administrators, and the civil rights community.
“Yesterday, ED, in a joint action with the Department of Justice, rescinded guidance about the role of race in college admissions and K-12 education.
“There has also been discussion of rescinding guidance preventing racial disproportionality in public school discipline.
“While the changes made by ED do not change the law protecting students of color in public schools and universities, they do create an unnecessary cloud of fear and uncertainty for students and their families, and eliminate useful tools that school administrators and state governments use to comply with the law.
“The Administration’s actions this week have made a strong statement about their view of the federal government’s role in addressing disparities in public education.
“The National Disability Rights Network strongly opposes any roll back of the hard won progress we have made on racial equity in education.”
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The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) is the nonprofit membership organization for the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) Systems and the Client Assistance Programs (CAP) for individuals with disabilities. Collectively, the Network is the largest provider of legally based advocacy services to people with disabilities in the United States.
