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Opinion | Michigan special education families need solutions, not spin
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The rise in special education complaints in Michigan is a warning sign, not just a statistic. State investigations stemming from parent complaints have risen 21% since 2018, far outpacing the growth in special students.
Each case represents a student whose legal rights were questioned or denied and a system that too often explains violations away instead of fixing them. Parents aren’t asking for perfection. They’re asking for the law to be followed. When violations are documented on paper yet brushed aside, it signals a system that is broken.
As both a certified special education teacher and a parent, I see the dedication of educators every day. Their effort is real, but the effort alone cannot substitute for accountability. Families don’t file complaints because they expect flawless schools; we file them when our children’s rights are violated.
Yet Michigan’s system allows the state to conclude individualized education program (IEP) violations, but it declines to label them a “denial of FAPE” (a free appropriate public education), even when the findings clearly show that’s what occurred.
I know the situation well. I filed complaints about my children’s school district. In state investigations, Michigan found numerous violations but nearly all ended with the same conclusion: “Overall… the Student received a free appropriate public education (FAPE).”
This is the contradiction at the heart of Michigan’s special education system: how can students be repeatedly denied services, timelines, and supports, and still be said to have received FAPE? Paper trails don’t lie, but enforcement often does, and when every violation is excused, accountability doesn’t exist.
Every year, the US Department of Education issues IDEA determinations assessing each state’s compliance and outcomes to ensure children with disabilities achieve equality, participation, independence, and self-sufficiency.
Funding is often blamed, but Michigan’s challenges run deeper. The state reimburses 28.6% of approved special-education costs, rounded to just under 29%, and has been rated “needs assistance” since 2015. In contrast, Wisconsin, with a comparable reimbursement rate of roughly 30%, has consistently met requirements throughout the same period.
Based on legal analyses, advocacy reports, and state IDEA determinations, Wisconsin also repeatedly appears in national rankings as one of the “top states” for special education and disability support. The difference isn’t only in funding; it’s in implementation, compliance, and results.
Michigan doesn’t need another task force or glossy messaging. Families are tired of quick fixes that paper over cracks but still leave students stumbling when they try to access the curriculum. What we need is accountability that matches the state’s own findings: when rights are violated, restore services; when timelines are broken, enforce the law; and when families speak up, protect their advocacy instead of punishing it.
True solutions don’t pit parents against teachers. They align resources with accountability so educators have what they need to teach, and families can trust the system to deliver what the law already guarantees.
Michigan families don’t need more spin; they ask for services. They need a system where needs follow the student, and services follow the need. Educators deserve resources. Families deserve safeguards. Children deserve nothing less than what the law already promises: a free appropriate public education.
Paper trails don’t lie — they show where systems fall short and where accountability must begin
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