Romney Calls for Using Title I, IDEA Funds for School Choice

Press Releases

May 23, 2012

By Alyson Klein

(From Education Week, May 23rd, 2012)

Presumptive GOP nominee Gov. Mitt Romney called today for making federal funding for special education and disadvantaged students portable—meaning the money would follow students to any school their parents choose, including a private school.

Under his proposal, parents could also choose to use the funds under Title I and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act at charter school, for online courses, or for tutoring. Title I is funded at $14.5 billion this year, and IDEA is funded at $11.6 billion, and any proposal to radically shift the use of that money would be almost certain to face a host of administrative, budgetary, and political hurdles from the Congress and statehouses on down.

(Read the full post here.)