Bill · H.R. 1570· House(119-HR-1570)
Empowering Families in Special Education Act
- Introduced
- 2/25/2025
- Last activity
- 2/25/2025 — Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
- Sponsored by
- Erin Houchin
- Cosponsors
- - 0 - 1
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This bill, titled the "Empowering Families in Special Education Act," seeks to amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The primary change involves adding a notification requirement for local educational agencies. Specifically, it requires these agencies to inform parents about their rights regarding the composition of the individualized education program team. This notification must occur within a reasonable timeframe before the first team meeting of the school year. This ensures parents know they can include others with expertise regarding their child in the process.
Yes
Would people with disabilities be better off under this?+5
The bill supports individuals with disabilities by ensuring their parents can advocate for more expert input in their educational programming.
Does this expand the rights of people with disabilities?+5
The bill strengthens the rights of parents of children with disabilities by requiring notification of their right to include experts in the IEP team.
Would children be better off under this?+3
Children with disabilities may benefit from the inclusion of specialized experts in their IEP team as facilitated by the new notification requirement.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
-
Increased Parent Awareness: Under Section 2, the local educational agency must notify parents that they may include other individuals with knowledge or special expertise regarding their child. This is a positive step as it ensures parents are aware of their right to bring additional support or experts to the table.
-
Inclusion of Specialized Knowledge: The bill allows for the inclusion of "related services personnel as appropriate" in the individualized education program team per Section 2. This could benefit children by ensuring the team includes people with specific expertise that can help address the child's unique needs.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- No negative impacts are explicitly mentioned in the text.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For People With Disabilities+5Good For Children+3
- Social Issues And Justice
- Improves Disability Rights+5
- 2/25/2025
- Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- Introduced in House
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Josh GottheimerDemocrat · New Jersey