Betsy DeVos

Betsy DeVos’ ignorance about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the harm it can do to special needs kids who go to private schools using her beloved vouchers, was right behind “potential grizzlies” as an example from her confirmation hearing of how unqualified she was to be education secretary. Her lack of qualifications didn’t stop Republicans from confirming her, though, and that means we can expect to see a lot more special needs students and their families promised the moon—and then betrayed.

The New York Times’ Dana Goldstein reports on voucher programs for special needs students, which DeVos and her ilk are heavily promoting despite (or because of?) the fact that “when students use vouchers to get into private school, they lose most of the protections of the federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Act.”

Legal experts say parents who use the vouchers are largely unaware that by participating in programs like McKay [Florida’s voucher program for special needs students], they are waiving most of their children’s rights under IDEA, the landmark 1975 federal civil rights law. Depending on the voucher program, the rights being waived can include the right to a free education; the right to the same level of special-education services that a child would be eligible for in a public school; the right to a state-certified or college-educated teacher; and the right to a hearing to dispute disciplinary action against a child.

The fallout includes the extra money parents may be shocked to find out they need to pay, the lack of qualified teachers or needed services, and possibly just plain being kicked out without recourse. The end result is that most of those students end up back in the public schools: