The Honorable Mike Johnson
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives, 521 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC, 20515-1804
The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries
Minority Leader
U.S. House of Representatives, 2267 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC, 20515-3208
The Honorable John Thune
Majority Leader
U.S. Senate, 511 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Charles Schumer
Minority Leader
U.S. Senate, 322 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 2051
Dear Speaker Johnson, Minority Leader Jeffries, Majority Leader Thune, and Minority Leader Schumer,
As a member of the San Diego Unified School District community, I urge Congress to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Congress passed IDEA in 1975 with a commitment to fund 40% of the additional cost of educating students with disabilities. However, this commitment has never been met. At San Diego Unified, federal IDEA funding covers only 6% of special education expenditures.
Federal IDEA funding has remained stagnant, even as the number of students with disabilities has grown year after year. This widening gap between students’ special education needs and federal IDEA funding puts immense strain on district budgets, which impacts all students and families. San Diego Unified spends over $400M annually on special education and receives only $28M in IDEA funding. Our students deserve more.
The San Diego Unified Congressional Delegation has stepped up to advocate for students with disabilities by cosponsoring the IDEA Full Funding Act, which creates a glide path to achieve full IDEA funding within 10 years.
We urge Congress to pass the IDEA Full Funding Act and make good on their promise to support students with disabilities.
