Despite a well-intentioned federal law that provides baseline rights for parents of special needs children across all states, a stark divide has emerged in education opportunities for children with disabilities, based on whether they live in states with school choice.

Students with disabilities in choice states have significantly more options than their peers in non-choice states. Congress needs to update the law to expand choice nationwide for students with disabilities.

The centerpiece of federal special education law — the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act — was passed 50 years ago at a time when ascendant reform-minded activists were redefining liberalism to rely less on the redistribution of wealth through federal agencies and more on the expansion of due process rights through compliance regimes hashed out by federal judges and special-interest legal organizations.

The law provides a right to an Individualized Education Program, a plan negotiated between the public school system and the child’s parents, but not a right to a high-quality education of the parents’ choice.

Without a parental right to exit the public school system, school administrators are frequently compelled to ration access to scarce special education resources. As a result, while the law greatly expanded access to public education for children with disabilities, students whose parents cannot afford to hire lawyers or who are unable to navigate the Individualized Education Program bureaucracy struggle to receive needed services.

School choice programs give parents another option. They can now opt out of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act compliance regime altogether and use scholarships or education........

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