In March of 2023, The Biden Administration (the “Administration”) released its Official Budget Proposal for the 2024 fiscal year. The proposal includes a significant funding increase in all areas of education but noticeably so for children with disabilities. The Administration made a nod to its “historic investments in education” and further shared that “every child with a disability should have access to the high-quality early intervention, special education services, and personnel needed to thrive in school and graduate ready for a college or a career.”

Early Intervention Services

First, the proposal states the Administration would provide $16.8 billion dollars for school-age programs and services to support students with disabilities, as well as an additional $392 million dollars towards early intervention services that support “infants and toddlers.”

Early intervention services are a comprehensive system of services required under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that helps young children with disabilities reach important developmental milestones. These services are provided at no cost to families and are designed to address the needs of infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. Early intervention is available to all children, including those with or without disabilities, who are at risk of having developmental delays or disabilities.

Early intervention services also include services provided by physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, psychologists, social workers, and other professionals who work with children from birth to three years old.

Special Education Recruitment and Retention

The budget next addresses the national special educator shortages by investing an additional $304 million dollars dedicated to the training and retention of special education teachers, related service providers, and early intervention personnel. Related-service providers include professionals such as paraprofessionals, speech therapists, counselors, occupational therapists, etc. Although the budget does not address the specifics of its recruitment and retention activities, the plan briefly indicates that funds will be invested into an educator incentive fund.

Military Families

Under the IDEA, Districts must ensure that a student's IEP remains active even if they change districts. Therefore, if a student leaves their current district and enrolls in another district, the new district must provide the same services as the previous district. This includes any special education services and related aids and services that were provided to the student before they left or transferred to another district. Although the law protects students who move districts, in practice, ensuring that a student's new school provides the same services in a timely manner can be costly and difficult to accomplish.

The Administration addresses this concern by investing an additional $20 million dollars to “ensure military-connected children with disabilities and other highly mobile children with disabilities maintain services when they change school districts.”

English-Language Learners

Finally, the Administration invested an additional $1.2 billion for English Language Learners who were “disproportionately impacted by disruptions from the COVID-19 Pandemic, and schools facing a shortage of bilingual teachers.”

Concerned About Your Child's Quality of Education? We Can Help

If you are concerned about your child's quality of education or concerned that your special needs student isn't receiving the services they should be receiving under federal and state law, national Attorney-Advisor Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Education Team can help you navigate the next appropriate steps in what oftentimes feels like an uphill battle. Contact us today by calling (888) 535-3686 or by using our online contact form.