Democrats Call for Study on Post-Secondary Outcomes for Students with Disabilities

WASHINGTON - Today, Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), House Committee on Education and Workforce, joined his colleagues in a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting that the Trump-Vance Administration conduct a study to help improve post-secondary outcomes for American students with disabilities. The letter comes shortly after the Administration announced it will further gut the Department of Education by shifting the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

"We write to ask that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) examine how states and local school districts are implementing post-secondary transition services for youth with disabilities served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Rehab Act) as amended by Title IV of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA),"wrote the legislators. "Transition services are defined by law as a coordinated set of activities that support movement from school to post-school life, representing one of the most consequential supports for determining long-term outcomes of youth with disabilities."

"While federal law has been amended over time to improve the quality of services provided in each state, data continues to show that these services are inconsistently administered and insufficiently studied, leaving millions of students unprepared for life after high school," the legislators continued.

"We deeply appreciate GAO's previous work analyzing services that help students with disabilities transition from school to work and believe this inquiry would provide critical insight into how to raise expectations and improve post-school outcomes for students with disabilities nationwide."the legislators concluded.

The letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), and U.S. Representative Lucy McBath (D-GA-06).

To read the full letter, click here.

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