DeVos Loses Court Round to Delay Obama Special Education Rule

The Education Department illegally delayed an Obama-era regulation meant to prevent racial discrimination when identifying students for special education programs, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

The 2016 regulation to prevent significant over-representation of blacks in special education programs was set to be carried out in July 2018.

Shortly before then, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos delayed the rule to 2020 to give the department time to rewrite it.

District of Columbia District Judge Tanya Chutkan said the holdup wasn’t necessary for rewriting the rule. States had spent 18 months preparing for the regulation, put forth by President Barack Obama’s administration.

‘Major Victory’

Department officials sought to justify the delay saying the regulation could inadvertently prevent all students from getting the help they need.

“The Secretary is concerned that the regulations will create an environment where children in need of special education and related services do not receive those services because of the color of their skin,” the department said when posting the delay of the rule.

House Education and Labor Chairman Bobby Scott (D-Va.) called the ruling a “major victory.”

“By forcing the Trump administration to implement the rule, the court’s ruling will put us back on a track toward reversing systemic racial discrimination in education,” Scott said in a statement.

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