The start of the new school year has brought unpleasant and unwelcome surprises for the parents of Michigan children with special needs.
That's because the federal sequester has hit special education, in the words of our next guest, "like a ton of bricks."
A new round of special ed cuts were forced by a 5% reduction in federal funding of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and now parents and special education students are seeing what that means.
With some 6.5 million disabled children from ages 3 to 21 getting services funded by the IDEA, this is something being felt across the country.
Marcie Lipsitt is the co-chair of the Michigan Alliance for Special Education. As the mother of a son with special needs, she has been a state and national advocate for disabled children. She joined us today.
Listen to the full interview above.
