U.S. Congress. Joint Committee to Investigate Dirigible Disasters, ca. 1933 (Photo credit: The U.S. National Archives)This post is about the dark side of politics. These days politics rarely seems to have a bright side!
Pursuant to previously passed legislation, if the U S Congress cannot compromise on deficit reductions, sequestration will apply and on January 1, 2013, 8.2% across the board cuts will be applied to all federal departments. A report by the White House shows that $4.1 Billion will be cut from the Department of Education, resulting in an additional $1 Billion in cuts to special education and related programs. These programs are already stretched thin because of cutbacks and layoffs prompted by the bad economy. The report notes at page 4 that sequestration will hurt children with disabilities.
You can read the 394 page report by the White House here. A summary by the Council for Exceptional Children is available here.
Sequestration is bad policy. Some programs cannot be cut; many probably should. Special education should not suffer because our elected leaders forgot how to compromise. Are they really going to balance the budget on the backs of kids with disabilities? Stay Tuned.
