Parents of students with disabilities are wondering how the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education will impact their children. One Tennessee nonprofit recently received a federal grant that they plan to use to help these families in the upcoming school year.
TNSTEP has been providing special education support for Tennessee families for 35 years — serving primarily as an information and training center for parents.
Some of this support involves offering reassurance amid changing educational policies, according to TNSTEP’s deputy director Stephanie Willis.
“There’s so much panic and so many of our calls right now are parents saying, ‘We’re hearing special education may go away. Is TNSTEP going away?’ ” she told WPLN News. “And even on the scariest of days or the most uncertain days, we were business as usual.”
That business relies, in part, on a five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs. Willis said that there was some uncertainty about the grant being awarded this year. While there was a delay, TNSTEP recently found out that the department will renew the grant.
These funds go towards assisting families with disabilities ranging from diabetes to autism. Referrals usually come from pediatricians, mental health professionals or word-of-mouth. Willis said families often come to them as a last resort — exhausted and confused from trying to navigate the special education system on their own.
“When their child is diagnosed or the school comes to the parent with concerns that an evaluation is needed, that’s a terrifying moment for a parent,” she said, noting that they’re often unsure about next steps and how involved they should be.
TNSTEP helps parents understand their rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This includes teaching parents strategies on how to work with schools while advocating for their children.
For example, the Tennessee’s Comptroller’s Office of Research and Accountability released a report earlier this year finding that public schools were removing students with disabilities from class without formal documentation.
Willis said parents should push back on this.
“Parents should ask the school, ‘Hey, have you formally documented this removal? If not, why? And, please do,’ ” she said.
She also stressed that most of her team either has a child with a disability or has one themselves, allowing them to personally understand the challenges facing these families.
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