Ohio's cuts to special education betray students with disabilities

Earlier this month, Education Secretary Linda McMahon fired nearly every staffer in the Office of Special Education – setting Ohio on a path to leave students with disabilities further behind. 

More than 80% of Ohio children attend public schools and approximately 16% of those students have a disability. This year, Ohio lawmakers passed a state budget that underfunds public education by $2.8 billion and fails to fund the true cost of educating every child, especially children who have a disability. Meanwhile, lawmakers decided to hand over $2.5 billion to private schools that pick and choose the students they educate. 

Under President Trump’s budget proposal, critical protection for children with disabilities would be left to the discretion of individual states and local districts. In Ohio, where our leaders show little concern for public education and special education, we can expect many protections to be eroded. 

These firings will ripple across Ohio from our rural towns to our urban centers. It will rob our communities of unrealized potential by weakening the very programs that are designed to help all students succeed. This is a direct abandonment of our collective duty to uplift every child, especially our most vulnerable children. 

 Amanda S. Fontana, MSW

New Philadelphia

Mom of children with disabilities, special education advocate, professor, school board member