Things are not going well for special education in general.
The short story:
- With the government shutdown, Dept. of Ed FIRED ~450 additional employees, including almost ALL of OSERS, and OSEP (office of special education). These are the people that actually help and account for ALL IDEA Act funds (parts B, C, and D) going to the states.
- Even if the government opens back up AND funds these parts, there's no one in the office to distribute the money.
- This problem is now so much larger than just these DeafBlind Programs. It's for anyone receiving Special Education in any form with Federal Support.
The Department of Ed. is legitimately not going to hear our call (no one is answering the phone). Even if they do, it's contrary to the current plan to shut the department down within the next 4 years. So giving in to us would be a step backwards in their overall plan. It's very possible that
Steps:
A. Figure out which programs in your state (this petition is for Wisconsin) are going to be affected by possible loss of federal support.
B. Figure out where your state budget is at, and how well funded it is? (Wisconsin just increased spec. Ed. funding by 40+% for the next 2 years)
C. Contact your STATE legislators and DISCUSS with them if this is enough.
- My Honest Opinion.
The federal government isn't going to help us here short of a federal court order, and even then only begrudgingly. Personally, I've put a lot of time and energy into this petition, and campaign to keep funding for our kids, but the table just got flipped and I don't even know where half the pieces went. Until the Fed re-opens, I won't be able to find them all, but I can't even look at that mess right now.
My focus, and the focus of this Petition is for Wisconsin, and our DeafBlind Kids. And that's where it's going to stay for now. I'll be shifting the decision makers on this Petition to the state-side.
Success of this petition is defined as when the money for WDBTAP is fully paid for this year AND has a reasonable chance of funding the year after.
Thank you all for your support of our kids. I'll be gathering more information, and bringing it together with a new plan soon (if any of you have additional information or suggestions, I'm open to hearing them: Casey.a.garner@gmail.com). Let's show our kids what they are worth to us.
#Onwisconsin.
Casey Garner