If there’s one place where Pete Stauber should part ways with Trump, it’s on special education.
HR 899 has been introduced in the House of Representatives to shut down the U.S. Department of Education, and Trump is said to be considering an Executive Order to do so.
Rep. Stauber has a child with disabilities, and no doubt his child benefited from support from special education when he was in school. I can’t believe that he would be against similar support for other people’s children.
If the federal government pulled its funding for education, the burden would fall on our local school districts and the state – or children would go unserved. Minnesota would lose over $2,000 per child without the federal aid. We’d have to raise taxes to meet the shortfall – or drop services.
My granddaughter has been getting support from special education for severe dyslexia and autism. Help with reading and support for her when her environment overwhelms her has been vital to her survival in school. She will graduate this year and plans to go to college to be a special education teacher. She is kind and loving and is a champion for little kids who sometimes get left behind.
Stauber has not yet signed onto the bill to eliminate the Department of Education. Maybe that’s a sign he knows what it would mean for the families in his district.
Please call him at 202-225-6211 as soon as possible and ask him to oppose any efforts to shut down the Department of Education and abandon support for special education for the children in his district.
I had two conversations in the last two days with kind young staffers in Stauber’s office—Griffin and Will.  They listened, took notes, and said they would pass it on. Maybe you think it doesn’t matter, but we have to believe that Stauber has a heart. Please take a few minutes to make a call.  
Leah Rogne
Gheen