Even as challenges remain in expanding access to supports for island students, education officials are looking back on the journey that brought them here—honoring a landmark education law for individuals with disabilities.

Celebrating 50 years of the Act, on Friday, the Guam Department of Education—alongside government officials—holding a proclamation signing in Adelup to mark the milestone legislation that ensures children with disabilities receive a free and appropriate public education tailored to their individual needs.

According to the Department of Education, back in 1970, U.S. schools educated only one in five children with disabilities, with many states excluding students who were deaf, blind, and had an intellectual disability.  That changed with the enactment of IDEA - formerly known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975. 

The law provided states and localities with support to protect the rights of, meet the individual needs of, and improve outcomes for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities—along with their families.

Tom Babauta, assistant superintendent of the Special Education Division at GDOE said, “IDEA has advanced us from exclusion to guaranteed access. From segregation to inclusive learning environments, from limited services to individual supports and protections, from low expectations to high standards and accountability." Looking ahead, he says the department remains focused on expanding access to high-quality supports for the island’s children, strengthening collaboration with families and community partners, and ensuring students are prepared for school, work, and independent living.

Governor Lou Leon Guerrero also reaffirming her commitment to maintaining funding for special education programs—as Congress’s recent budget agreement rebuffs many of the sweeping changes sought by President Donald Trump for services supporting individuals with developmental disabilities.

Under the bill, special education funding would increase by $20 million, while also rejecting proposals to alter idea by consolidating funding and shifting greater control to the states.

“We will and are going to work with the legislature to find the means to continue this program, because it is necessary," said the governor. "It is the right thing to do, it is the humanitarian thing to do, it’s for our children again. And as Tom said, inclusiveness is about all of us.”