SUPPORTING INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES

President Obama is committed to fostering a society that values the contributions of all people, 

including individuals with disabilities. Although we have made advances in education, employment, 

and civil rights for individuals with disabilities, we must do more to fulfill the promise of equal 

access and equal opportunity. Educational, economic, and health outcomes for people with 

disabilities are still much lower than their peers without disabilities, and ensuring that individuals 

with disabilities are achieving to the highest levels possible is a national imperative. 

The Administration has proposed changes to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) 

to ensure that the needs of students with disabilities are addressed throughout ESEA, and has 

continued to include students with disabilities in all of its education reform efforts. The 

Administration is also working to improve the participation of individuals with disabilities in our 

nation’s public workforce system and increase the employment of individuals with disabilities, 

including by providing grants to States and other entities to create innovative models for service 

delivery that are likely to improve their employment outcomes.

The President’s fiscal year 2014 budget request provides increased investments in education for 

children with disabilities as well as targeted investments that encourage innovation and advance the

employment and independence of individuals with disabilities. 

• IDEA Part B Grants to States ($11.6 billion). These formula grants support States and 

districts in providing special education and related services to students with disabilities. The 

grants are critical to the efforts of states and districts to provide the more than 6.5 million 

students with disabilities ages 3 through 21 served by Part B a free appropriate public 

education (FAPE) that meets their unique needs. By maintaining significant support for Part 

B, the Administration is helping to ensure that students with disabilities receive the special 

education and related services necessary to participate in the general education curriculum to 

the maximum extent possible and are prepared for college and careers.

• IDEA Part C Grants for Infants and Families ($463 million). These formula grants help 

States implement statewide systems of early intervention services to assist all eligible infants 

and toddlers with disabilities from birth through age two and their families. These funds 

would increase the average State allocation by over $300,000, help States serve an estimated 

337,000 infants and toddlers, encourage States to extend early intervention services to 

children through age 5, and help States coordinate with early childhood programs that are 

part of the Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge and Preschool for All. Additionally, 

this request would allow the Department to award up to $2.7 million for State Incentive 

Grants to facilitate a seamless system of services for children with disabilities from birth until 

kindergarten entry. 

• IDEA Part B Preschool Grants ($373 million). These formula grants help States provide 

FAPE in the least restrictive environment to all children with disabilities ages 3 through 5. 
This request, supplemented by the funds requested for the IDEA Part B Grants to States 

program, would help ensure that over 745,000 young children with disabilities will be ready 

to succeed when they enter school. In addition, this request would help States coordinate 

with preschool programs for children with disabilities within the broader Preschool for All

program. 

• National Activities under IDEA ($236 million). These funds would be used to improve 

services and supports for children with disabilities and advance the field through funding for 

technical assistance, personnel development and preparation, parent information centers,

and educational technology, media, and materials. The National Activities programs link 

States, school systems, and families to best practices to improve results for infants, toddlers, 

and children with disabilities.

• Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) State Grants program ($3.2 billion). These grants help 

States and tribal governments increase the participation of individuals with disabilities in the 

workforce. The $71.081 million increase over the fiscal year 2013 mandatory level would 

more than offset the reduction in funds resulting from the Administration’s proposal to 

eliminate separate funding authorities for several smaller VR-related programs. The VR 

State Grants program can also carry out the activities of the smaller programs. Eliminating

them would reduce duplication of effort and administrative costs, streamline program 

administration at the Federal and local levels, and improve accountability. 

• Improving the achievement of students with disabilities. The Administration believes 

strongly that all students, including students with disabilities, should enter school ready to 

learn and have access to high-quality interventions and effective teachers. The President’s 

2014 budget request includes funds for programs that would support these goals, such as:

o College- and Career-Ready Students program ($14.5 billion). This program

would strengthen school, district, and State accountability by continuing to require 

disaggregated reporting of achievement data for students with disabilities, asking 

States to implement meaningful interventions in schools with the largest 

achievement gaps, and measuring student growth as well as achievement. 

o Preschool for All ($75 billion over 10 years). This new initiative would provide 

universal access to high-quality preschool for four-year-old children from low and 

moderate income families, including children with disabilities. The program would 

give more children with disabilities and developmental delays the opportunity to 

participate in inclusive, high-quality preschool programs to prepare them for success 

in school and in life.

o Presidential Teaching Fellows program ($190 million). This program would

support scholarships for talented teaching candidates to attend top-tier teacher 

preparation programs and teach in high-need schools and high-need subjects or 
fields, including special education. The program would help ensure that students 

with disabilities, along with low-income students, minority students, and English 

Learners, have access to effective teachers.

• Disability Innovation Fund. The FY 2014 request includes language that would allow the 

Secretary to use funds that remain available after the reallotment of funds to States under the 

VR State Grants program to support innovative activities aimed at improving services and 

employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities, including individuals with disabilities 

under the Vocational Rehabilitation State Grants program. These activities include:

o The Promoting Readiness of Minors in Social Security Income (PROMISE) 

program. This joint pilot demonstration program with the Social Security 

Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the 

Department of Labor would improve the education and post-school outcomes of 

children who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and their families. This 

program would fund pilots in select States to improve the provision and 

coordination of services for these individuals.

o Support for Disconnected Youth and At-Risk Individuals. Of the total amount 

of VR funds that remain available at the end of FY 2014, the Administration 

proposes to set-aside $5 million to support projects targeting disconnected youth 

with disabilities under the Disconnected Youth Initiative. The Administration would 

also set aside part of the remaining funds to support a pilot demonstration project 

with the Social Security Administration that would incentivize State efforts to utilize 

an array of State and federal programs and funding streams, such as the Vocational 

Rehabilitation State Grants program, to provide early intervention employmentrelated services to at-risk individuals with disabilities.