U.S.
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has released her recommended waiver authority
under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The
Secretary did not recommend that Congress pass any additional waiver authority
concerning the Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) and Least Restrictive
Environment (LRE) requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA). The announcement mirrors guidance provided by the Department in
March. The press release states "The Secretary determined there is no
reason that a student's access to FAPE cannot continue online, through distance
education or other alternative strategies." The report did not directly
address any of the issues NSBA offered the Secretary in our letter concerning
the many challenges impact ing schools during the pandemic around IDEA.
Although there are no recommended waivers on FAPE and LRE requirements under
IDEA, there are some recommendations that Congress consider additional
flexibilities on administrative requirements under the Perkins Act, the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the IDEA. The NSBA legal and legislative
advocacy teams are continuing to evaluate the recommendations and will offer
additional information as we can provide it. We remain committed to working on
strategies to get Congress to offer narrowly tailored and temporary flexibility
and increased funding for IDEA to offset the many challenges of COVID-19. For
your information, the link to the waiver report is provided below and is also
attached to this message as a PDF.
https://www2.ed.gov/documents/coronavirus/cares-waiver-report.pdf
