Senator Markey meets with students, parents, and educators at the Campus School at Boston College on Friday, November 21, 2025.
Boston (November 26, 2025) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, visited the Campus School at Boston College on Friday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which was signed into law on November 29, 1975. The IDEA was enacted to ensure that students with disabilities had access to the same educational opportunities as their peers.
During the visit, Senator Markey met with students and spoke with parents and educators about the Trump administration’s effort to dismantle the Department of Education—including rumored plans to move the office that executes the IDEA to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—and how he has been fighting on behalf of students across the Commonwealth. Moving IDEA programs to HHS would bring the programs under the control of HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr., who has spread misinformation and ablest hatred about children with disabilities.
“On the 50th anniversary of the IDEA, we should be thinking of ways to expand services for students with disabilities. Instead, we are fighting to defend the programs students, families, and communities rely upon from President Trump’s pro-privatization and anti-student agenda. Attacks on public education especially hurt the most vulnerable students, including students with disabilities. With their continued callous cuts to the Department of Education, Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon are locking the promise of education in an ivory tower and throwing away the key. Dismantling the Department of Education is dangerous for students with disabilities, and I will continue fighting to provide the resources and support they need to succeed,” said Senator Markey.
“In celebrating 50 years of IDEA, the landmark law based on Massachusetts’ own Chapter 766 law, the Massachusetts Association of Approved Special Education Schools (MAAPS) was honored to name U.S. Senator Ed Markey a ‘Champion of IDEA’ for his unwavering commitment to all learners having access to education,” said Elizabeth Becker, Executive Director of MAAPS. “But MAAPS is deeply concerned about the future of special education and the IDEA. Dismantling the US Department of Education introduces uncertainty, lack of national continuity, and is frankly demoralizing. Eliminating the Department would effectively remove the only national accountability framework ensuring that students with disabilities are not underserved.”
“We were deeply honored to welcome Senator Markey to Campus School at Boston College as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of IDEA. This visit was especially meaningful as it grew from the powerful testimony of Lyla, a Campus School parent, at the MAAPS IDEA anniversary event, which is an important reminder of how profoundly one parent’s voice can shape understanding and action. Our students, families, and educators work every day to live the promise of IDEA, and having the Senator here affirms that their efforts, and their stories, matter,” said Jessica Pulgiesi, Director of Campus School at Boston College.
“Because of IDEA, Logan has the right to an education that meets his unique needs. Not a system that asks him to fit in, but one that adapts itself to him, and to all children with disabilities,” said Lyla Puggioni of Watertown, whose son Logan is an elementary student at Campus School. "That right is not abstract. It is not theoretical. It is the reason Logan is learning. It is the reason he attends Campus School at Boston College, where he is seen for his potential and progress and not for what he can’t do.
“Senator Markey’s visit to the Campus School at Boston College was immensely meaningful to our family because it gives us hope that IDEA will remain protected. Our 13-year-old daughter Natalie has extensive cognitive and medical challenges, and IDEA is the lifeline that ensures she receives the meaningful education we moved to Massachusetts to secure. As the current administration works to weaken the Department of Education and undermine IDEA, we are deeply grateful that Senator Markey is fighting to protect the rights of children with disabilities,” said Julia Jordanich of Lexington, whose daughter Natalie is a middle school student at Campus School.
Senator Markey is leading the fight against the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle public education in the United States and to provide essential resources for students with disabilities.
###
