Defending Public Education: What’s At Stake For Disabled Students In The South

What Is Public Education?

The United States has a system of free public education that is funded by taxes. People pay different kinds of taxes to local, state, and federal governments, and this money helps support public schools. Because education is publicly funded, every child has the opportunity to go to school regardless of how much money their family has.

Public Education: A Brief History

Understanding what is happening to public education in the South today requires knowing where these systems came from.

• Since the 1940s, people in the South have used private schools as a way to avoid rules that said Black and white students should go to school together.

• Southern state leaders put in place 450 laws in 10 years to try to stop students of different races from going to school together.

• Southern private schools did not start to have Black and white students go to school together until the 1980s.

• In the 1980s, the United States Supreme Court said that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the government office that controls taxes, could take away a private religious school's tax benefit if they do not treat Black students fairly.

Threats to Southern Education Today

Today, all of the Southern states either have programs or have introduced bills that put state money towards "private school choice." These programs take money away from public education and give it to private schools instead, similar to separation in schools based on race.

Private schools can reject students based on any characteristic, like disability. They do not have to provide as much support for disabled students, such as Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and 504 plans, which are only available at public schools.

Key terms to know:

• Individualized Education Plan (IEP): A special plan made for a disabled student who needs extra support in school. The plan says what the student is good at, what they need help with, and how the school will support them so they can learn and succeed.

• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): A law that says kids with disabilities have the right to go to school, learn with other kids, and get the help they need, like an IEP.

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act 1973 (Section 504): A special plan that makes sure disabled students have access to the physical school buildings, and that they receive the support they need to learn and succeed.

These voucher programs take away money from public schools and make it harder for public schools to provide support for disabled students.

Additional threats:

• The Trump Administration is trying to get rid of the Department of Education, which is the government office that supports disabled students and their families.

• Private school choice programs separate disabled students and leave them out of community with other students.

• Black and Hispanic students at schools in the U.S. South are less likely to be identified as having disabilities than White students.

What Are the Facts?

• 7.5 million students aged 3–21 received Special Education or similar support during the 2022–2023 school year.

• While all public schools are supposed to include disabled students, some do not. Some schools do not provide the support disabled students need, put them in separate classrooms, or do not allow them to take part in activities.

• In March 2025, almost half of the people working at the Department of Education were let go.

• Southern states have consistently lower numbers of students who can read. The states with the lowest percentages of students reading at grade level include:

  • Texas — 30%

  • West Virginia — 30%

  • Oklahoma — 29%

  • Alabama — 28%

  • Louisiana — 26%

Why This Matters

Disabled students have the right to get an education that is just as good as their nondisabled classmates.

• Disabled students deserve to have the support they need to learn.

• The quality of education students get should not be determined by where they live or how much money they have.

• "Private school choice" programs take money away from neighborhood public schools, which affects students who live in low-income areas the most.

• Education is important for opportunities later in life. People who graduate from high school are more likely to be able to get a job than those who do not graduate.

What Needs to Be Done

• National lawmakers should work to protect the Department of Education and reopen all the offices that have been closed.

• State policymakers need to maintain funding for public schools. Part of this means rejecting private school voucher programs.

• School districts need to put more money and other resources toward special education and related programs for disabled students.

Take Action

Contact your State Representative, State Senator, and Members of Congress. Ask them to protect public education, fully fund special education programs, and reject private school voucher programs that take money away from the students who need it most.