No, Project 2025 Wouldn’t Eliminate Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)
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Project 2025, an initiative by The Heritage Foundation, aims to provide a blueprint for the next conservative president to reform the government. There have been concerns about whether Project 2025 would lead to the elimination of individualized education plans (IEPs), which are designed to meet the specific learning needs of students with disabilities.
Key Highlight:
The VERIFY team investigated this question. According to their sources, including The Heritage Foundation and various disability advocacy groups, Project 2025 does not propose eliminating IEPs. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates that IEPs remain in place to ensure that students with disabilities receive necessary educational services.
Project 2025 does not propose eliminating individualized education plans (IEPs). Instead, it suggests changing the distribution of federal funds for IEPs, allowing parents to use these funds for savings accounts or private schools. While The Heritage Foundation states that the IEP process in public schools would remain unchanged, some disability advocates worry that these changes could undermine legal protections for families and affect their rights to an equal education.
The document “Mandate for Leadership: A Conservative Promise” for Project 2025 does not mention IEPs, and The Heritage Foundation’s Noah Weinrich confirms that Project 2025 does not advocate for their elimination. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), public schools receiving federal funding must create IEPs for eligible students, while private schools, not receiving federal funds, are not required to offer IEPs or special education services.
Project 2025 does not propose eliminating IDEA funding or IEPs but suggests changing how IDEA funds are managed. It recommends shifting the distribution of these funds from the Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) to a block grant system administered by the Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living. This change would give states and local governments more flexibility and less federal oversight in using the funds, and Project 2025 also proposes eliminating the Department of Education altogether.
Under Project 2025, IDEA funds would be converted into block grants given to states, which could then be used to create education savings accounts for parents. This would allow parents to use the funds for private schools if desired, while still maintaining the option to use the funds for public school IEPs if preferred. The process for providing IEPs in public schools would remain unchanged, with the only modification being increased flexibility for parents in directing their funding.
Critics of Project 2025 raise concerns that its proposed changes to IDEA funding could reduce accountability and affect students with disabilities negatively. They worry that shifting to a block grant model could lead to unfair distribution of funds and lack of oversight. Specifically, there are concerns about whether private schools would still adhere to federal mandates for equal services and whether parents would lose legal protections if their rights are violated. Additionally, moving oversight from the Department of Education to Health and Human Services could isolate special education programs from broader educational services.
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