Congresswoman Tlaib rocks the floor for our kids

Autism Alliance of Michigan release here

The full transcript of Congresswoman Tlaib’s floor speech:

“Mr. Speaker, this is a plea on behalf of 182,000 families who will have students with disabilities in Michigan. Year after year, we continue to fall short on the promise to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which many call IDEA. Failing to help our students to obtain the services they need to learn is again, years that we cannot get back for our children. With this shortfall, we continue to undermine our students with disabilities. 

The education gap is continuing to widen. There is currently a 22 percent dropout rate for students with disabilities in Michigan, where for non-disabled students, it’s only 8 percent.

Students use assessments to measure student proficiency and achievement, and under the IDEA, students with disabilities are expected to participate in state assessments. However, every year between 2017 and 2022, the State of Michigan has requested the Department of Education to approve a waiver to increase the 1 percent gap required by the federal government for the number of students with disabilities who can take Michigan’s alternative assessment. It’s because we’re at double. We often don’t do enough to support our kids who need to go through this, nor do we advise our parents properly.

State cuts often shortchange individuals’ learning plans that are crucial for students with disabilities. However, according to the Autism Alliance of Michigan, the dropout rate for students with disabilities is double the amount, but disparities are even worse for students of color with disabilities.

We need to fully fund IDEA, and we know that will help Michigan serve our students. It will help reduce the amount of inappropriate assessments and improve access to information and support for our school districts.

But, it is disheartening to see the State of Michigan’s Department of Education now before an administrative hearing judge, because they are not in compliance with the federal laws. This is the first time in 27 years that our U.S. Department of Education had to drag a state through an administrative hearing process. And it is shameful that we’re at this point after over a year of negotiations. 

We got to do better. These are our children, and again, we cannot get these years back for them. We have to do right.”