How does dismantling the Department of Education impact students with disabilities?

Last week, when President Trump signed an order aiming to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education, he said the move had broad support. But for weeks, many Democrats have been speaking out against that change including Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. Since the 1970's, American students with disabilities have had the right to a "Free Appropriate Public Education" under federal law. The federal Department of Education has enforced that law making sure that students have what they need in their schooling.

The attempts to dismantle the Department of Education -- and the cuts that have already happened -- have sparked worries about whether students can get that support, even if Trump says those programs will be preserved in other departments. There's also questions about what'll happen to funding for special education and even the research that helps establish best practices in the field.

Experts in the field of special education discuss what goes into special education, and how what's happening in the federal government could affect the field. Parents of students with disabilities also share their perspective.

GUESTS

Michelle Sands 
Assistant Professor, Special Education, Northern Illinois University

Valerie Mazzotti 
Roy A. Roberts Distinguished Professor of Special Education, Department of Special Education, University of Kansas

Jen Curran 
Social worker at a special education co-op in Sterling

Brian Hensley
Parent of a special education student in Bloomington-Normal

Dianne Husby-Gordon 
Parent of a special education student in Champaign