"Confused" that is the word you used when asked about the federal act IDEA that provides individuals with disabilities the right to free appropriate public education. You said that it should be left to the states to decide. My question to you, is education is in fact a basic human right, yet you would be denying an individual their right to education because of their disability if states were to oppose the act. By stating "leave it to the states" you are expecting vulnerable families who may sacrifice to make ends meet, care for other children and take care of their child with a disability to move in order to provide their child the right to learning and growing as an individual. By enabling states to not follow IDEA, you would be discriminating against individuals who do not learn the same way as others.

You are exemplifying the stereotype that "if you don't learn a certain way than you are different." Leaving it up to the states, causing some to oppose IDEA, would inconvenience families everywhere that expected their child to go to school just like everyone else but instead they would have to move, or sacrifice their child's education. In today's society so many people overlook individuals with disabilities and just assume they are all the same. By "leaving it up to the states" you would be okay with discriminating individuals just because they do not learn the same way, or may need extra help. Doing this, would put us back many years that people have fought to gain rights for individuals with disabilities because they are just like you and me.

It is not right to discriminate and if you are being nominated and possibly entrusted with the duty of our education system than you need to understand IDEA and realize that it is deplorable to not understand it, and especially believe that individuals should be denied education if the states were to oppose the act. Leaving it up to the states poses an incredible risk to our education system and opens the door for acts of injustice by state governments. We saw this happen with voting rights for women and minorities throughout the past century. Individuals have so many ABILITIES and you seem to only be looking in from the outside and labeling them by what they have and not who they are.

I hope you strongly reconsider your stance on our education system and educate yourself on the federal law of IDEA and how important it is to so many people. I understand you said you would be "very sensitive" if elected, to individuals with disabilities, but you need to be more than that. You need to set an example to show individuals they are not excluded and be an advocate for inclusion.