Axing federal Department of Education & cutting Medicaid will hurt Carmel’s & Fishers’ disability communities

By VICTORIA GARCIA WILBURN
State Representative

Garcia Wilburn

As an occupational therapist and state representative, I am thankful to represent communities that place a premium on inclusive growth that ensures residents with disabilities can thrive. Both Fishers and Carmel constantly work to elevate the disability community and make city planning decisions that are welcoming to all. Additionally, our area schools offer robust special education programs so that every child can have a bright future, regardless of ability.

Setting up every child for success is a right guaranteed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a federal law that is enforced by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE). IDEA ensures that public school students receive an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that is tailored to their needs and abilities. Additionally, the DOE supplements state resources with the additional funding needed to execute IEPs for their students.

To be clear, IDEA only protects students enrolled in public schools, and oftentimes private schools do not have the capacity – or a federal mandate – to provide specialized IEPs to students with disabilities. This makes our public schools all the more important for our disability community. As the National Education Association published in a recent article about these cuts, “The best and only choice, say many parents of children with disabilities, is their neighborhood public school.”

This is why I’m incredibly disappointed in last month’s federal administration decision to cut the DOE completely. We should not be leaving our students with disabilities out to dry without the robust federal support and civil rights enforcement they’ve been promised to ensure they have equal opportunities as their peers without disabilities. This decision will do just that.

Also on the federal level, potential Medicaid cuts will hurt our students in special education programs. Indiana is one of 25 states that has opted into allowing Medicaid payments to be used to carry out IEPs. With Congress discussing $800 billion in cuts to Medicaid and other programs, the quality of IEPs and support personnel are on the chopping block.

Our federal leaders in charge of our health care system have made damaging and misleading statements about what kids with disabilities can hope to accomplish in their lives. U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said this of children with autism: “These are kids who will never pay taxes. They will never hold a job. They’ll never play baseball. They’ll never write a poem. They’ll never go out on a date.”

This is patently untrue – Americans with autism lead rich and full lives, and these comments do not reflect the body of health research showing how much progress youth and adults with autism can make toward independence with evidence-based interventions.

In my opinion, this is all unacceptable. Our public schools are the crown jewel of our community, and we need to keep them excellent for all students, including our students with disabilities who need a specialized curriculum. We can’t take a step backward for the disability community and leave our children with disabilities behind. The core tenant of IDEA is that all children deserve an equal opportunity in education and an equal opportunity to succeed, but these cuts threaten to dismantle that promise. Our kids deserve more than this – and I will continue advocating for them to get the investment and attention they’re owed.

State Representative Victoria Garcia represents District 32 in the Indiana House, which includes Fishers and southern portions of Carmel.