In a report issued last week, democrat members of the House
Appropriations Committee have illustrated the impact sequestration – the 8.2%
across-the-board-cut to non-defense discretionary programs – will have on
numerous sectors of the economy, including education.
CEC has been actively advocating against these cuts, explaining the devastating impact they would have on special education (read more here). Use CEC’s Legislative Action Center to quickly email a letter to your Congressional delegation to voice your opposition to special education cuts!
The report, which goes into great detail, highlights number of jobs impacted and program recipients who would no longer receive services for a variety of programs ranging from special education to the FBI.
Specific to special education:
- Special Education Grants to States/IDEA would face significant reductions under sequestration.
- States and school districts could be forced to lay off approximately 12,000 special education teachers and paraprofessionals, as well as other staff serving children with disabilities.
- More than 500,000 students with disabilities stand to be impacted by this reduction in services.
Other early childhood/education programs impacted include:
- Roughly 100,000 fewer children nationwide would be enrolled in Head Start – thereby losing comprehensive early childhood services. More than 20,000 Head Start employees could lose their jobs.
- Title I Grants to School Districts would see a cut in excess of $1 billion, denying funding to well over 4,000 schools serving nearly 2 million students who are disadvantaged. These funds pay for teachers, tutors, and after-school programs. Sequestration would mean job losses for more than 16,000 teachers and paraprofessionals.
- 900,000 participants dropped from the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Supplemental Nutrition Program
Sequestration is quickly becoming a household word, meaning dramatic, automatic cuts to both defense and non-defense spending. These auto cuts will take place on January 2, 2013 – and will impact special education on July 1 - unless Congress acts to change this current law which was put into place in 2011 during negotiations to raise the debt ceiling and lessen the deficit. Read more here.
It is critical that all special educators take a moment to use CEC’s Legislative Action Center (LAC) to email Congress. Contacting Congress is easy using CEC’s LAC, CEC provides a template email you may personalize and all you need to know is your zip code to send an email in only minutes! Take action now!
Comments