San Diego Unified launches petition to demand federal funding for special education services

Lafayette Elementary School in Clairemont File photo by Chris Stone Times of San Diego The San Diego Unified School District broadcasted Monday that it has launched a petition calling on Congress to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Coaching Act The district announced that it is doing so in response to concerns from families and group members The petition Demand Congress Fully Fund the Individuals with Disabilities Training Act can be signed here It urges Congress to meet its long-standing obligation to fully fund IDEA This petition is a tool for collective action a way for us to walk arm-in-arm into conversations with legislators backed by thousands of voices San Diego Unified Superintendent Fabiola Bagula explained in a announcement Please join us in this critical fight to secure the federal advocacy promised nearly fifty years ago The district explained that personnel were contacted by concerned parents within hours after they shared their plan to strengthen special instruction services and step up federal advocacy This effort is promptly growing into a powerful coalition of parents educators and region members united in the belief that every attendee deserves fully funded high-quality special teaching services Bagula revealed The district stated that when Congress passed IDEA in it committed to covering of the additional cost of educating students with disabilities That commitment has never been fulfilled Federal IDEA funding covers only of special tuition expenditures at SDUSD The district spends more than million each year on special mentoring but receives just million from IDEA Members of San Diego Unified s Congressional Delegation have co-sponsored the IDEA Full Funding Act which would establish a -year path toward meeting the original federal funding level The petition calls on Congress to pass this decree instantly