ANCOR Signs Coalition Letter to Dept. of Ed Opposing Re-Opening WIOA

As part of our work with the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), ANCOR signed onto a letter with 24 other national organizations to Secretary of Education Betsy Devos stating strong opposition to any efforts by the Department of Education (DOE) to open regulations that govern the implementation of the Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Because WIOA contains provisions surrounding the employment of individuals with I/DD, we are concerned about opening the regulation for changes could lead to the weakening of those provisions.

As written in the letter:

“As we described in our July 9 letter to you and reiterate today, we believe that opening the WIOA regulations will undermine implementation of the law, which establishes competitive integrated employment (CIE) as a clear national priority built on the goal of economic self-sufficiency established in the bipartisan Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). WIOA also prioritizes the transition of youth with disabilities from school to CIE and aligns with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act’s (IDEA) goal of educating students with disabilities alongside their peers without disabilities. The Department’s WIOA regulations not only reflect Congressional intent to prioritize CIE and align WIOA with the ADA and IDEA, but they also codify long-standing Department of Education policy. We strongly believe that opening the regulations is unnecessary and that any concerns that the Department may have, or misinformation that exists in the field, can be addressed most effectively though technical assistance and other sub-regulatory guidance.”

ANCOR members with questions about our work on WIOA can reach out to Esme Grant Grewal, Vice President of Government Relations, at [email protected].