One year later, and in the thick of the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the Department of Education, the case now seems to anticipate what’s to come. Without federal oversight, more states and school districts will feel emboldened to ignore federal guidelines for special education that have been law for more than 50 years.

Annie’s case is heartbreaking because I know how different special education can be. I flew to Texas to meet with the Moreys a week before my 13-year-old daughter headed to Washington, DC, on a class trip. Like Annie, my daughter has Down syndrome, but our school district in southwest Ohio does not insist on testing her IQ. The willingness of administrators and teachers to find creative ways to include my daughter in general education classes has had a profound impact on her life.

Opportunities for meaningful inclusion are supposed to be mandated by federal law. But in reality, it depends on where you live. And as the Trump administration continues its attempts to “return education to the states,” there will be more cases like Annie’s. More school districts will get away with following outdated, harmful practices that ignore a student’s true potential.

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