Bill · S. 745· Senate(119-S-745)
Empowering Families in Special Education Act
- Introduced
- 2/26/2025
- Last activity
- 2/26/2025 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- Sponsored by
- Eric Schmitt
- Cosponsors
- - 1 - 3
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This bill, titled the "Empowering Families in Special Education Act," proposes amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The primary change focuses on the notification requirements for Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams. It requires local educational agencies to inform parents about their rights regarding team participation. Specifically, parents must be notified that they can include other individuals with specialized knowledge or expertise in the team. This notification must occur within a reasonable timeframe before the first IEP team meeting of the school year.
Yes
Would people with disabilities be better off under this?+5
The bill supports individuals with disabilities by ensuring their educational plans can incorporate specialized expertise through parental notification.
Does this expand the rights of people with disabilities?+5
The bill enhances the rights of parents of children with disabilities by requiring notification that they can include experts in the IEP process.
Would children be better off under this?+3
The bill potentially benefits children with disabilities by allowing their IEP teams to include specialized experts.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
-
Increased Parental Awareness: By requiring the local educational agency to notify parents, this provision ensures that parents are aware they have the right to include others in the IEP process. This is found in Section 2 (ii) Notification required.
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Access to Expertise: The bill allows parents to include individuals who have special expertise or knowledge regarding the child, such as related services personnel, as part of the IEP team. This can help ensure the child's needs are addressed by knowledgeable parties. This is found in Section 2 (ii) Notification required.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- No negative impacts are explicitly stated in the provided 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
- 12/17/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 3/3/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 2/26/2025
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- Introduced in Senate
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.
Alex PadillaDemocrat · California
Jeanne ShaheenDemocrat · New Hampshire
Tim SheehyRepublican · Montana
Raphael WarnockDemocrat · Georgia