Murray: “DeVos Will Be Further Denying A Generation Of Students the Opportunities Promised To Them” Under Nation’s Special Education Law

(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, issued the following statement on the announcement by the Department of Education to consider delaying protections for children of color and students with disabilities.

“Children of color are often held back from accessing the same opportunities as their peers because they are disproportionately punished or put in separate special education classes. So it is extremely disappointing that Secretary DeVos is ignoring the pleas of parents and advocates, and independent evidence, and is considering delaying a rule that seeks to improve education equity and help end the school to prison pipeline. We worked to address this issue in the law more than a decade ago, and if this rule is delayed, DeVos will be further denying a generation of students the opportunities promised to them in IDEA.”

###