We have had enough.
Enough of the underfunding.
Enough of the shortages.
Enough of the performative concern.
Enough of the excuses.
We are done subsidizing a federal law with our sanity.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. IDEA is a federal law.
Passed in 1975.
It guarantees students with disabilities a free appropriate public education (FAPE).
It mandates evaluations. Services. Accommodations. Specialized instruction.
And Congress promised—promised—to cover 40% of the cost.
2. That promise was broken.
The actual federal contribution?
10.9%.
You read that right.
Ten. Point. Nine.
One quarter of what was promised.
The rest? Kicked down to states and districts, who are told to figure it out.
3. “Figure it out” looks like this:
A psychologist with 600 students and no time to test.
A speech-language pathologist with 72 kids and no prep.
A sped teacher drowning in IEPs, behavior plans, data tracking, and no time to teach.
An evaluation delayed. A support never delivered. A lawsuit waiting to happen.
And a student, somewhere, who doesn't get what they need—again.
This isn’t a funding problem.
It’s a moral one.
4. The shortfall is $38.7 billion.
That’s what it would take to actually meet the commitment.
Not gold-plated. Not wish list. Just what was promised.
Congress knows it.
The Congressional Research Service reported it.
Senators have quoted it.
There is no mystery left.
Only a refusal to act.
5. When IDEA isn’t funded, every child pays.
Because when the federal government underfunds a civil rights law, districts don’t get a pass.
They raid general funds.
They cut art, music, electives, enrichment.
They increase class sizes.
They overload general ed teachers.
And then they ask, "Why are teachers leaving?"
Don’t ask teachers to stretch further.
Ask Congress to pay the bill.
6. Bake sales aren’t civil rights.
Neither are grants.
Neither are good vibes, “awareness months,” or Instagram reels.
We don’t need recognition.
We need the money.
Money for personnel.
Money for time.
Money for training.
Money for systems that meet legal timelines without legal threats.
If you wouldn’t fund fire departments with stickers,
Don’t fund special education that way either.
7. The IDEA Full Funding Act exists.
It would commit Congress to meeting its own 40% target.
It’s introduced. It's sitting there.
The only thing missing is political will.
So here's the will.
Here’s the fire.
Here’s the line in the sand.
Fully.
Fucking.
Fund.
IDEA.
No more delays.
No more polite asks.
No more waiting for a “more convenient time.”
That time was 1975.
We are not asking anymore.
We are demanding.
Put the money in. Or stop pretending you believe in inclusion, access, or equity at all.
This is your last grace period.
By thespedredhead