Addressing Disability in Education: Letter to Federal Official

This assignment presents a letter written by a student to the Secretary of Education, Mrs. DeVos, addressing the challenges faced by students with disabilities in higher education. The student acknowledges the "Rethink Higher Education" program and highlights the inadequate support and resources available for students with disabilities. The letter emphasizes the importance of providing these students with equal access to employment opportunities and advocates for increased federal funding and policy changes to support them. The student provides statistics on the number of students with disabilities and the limited support they receive, urging the Secretary to take action to ensure their success in higher education. The letter concludes with a request for federal resources to facilitate the participation of students with disabilities in work-study programs.

Letter to Federal Government
Student’s Name
University
Author’s note

Mrs. Betsy DeVos
Secretary of Education, United States Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20202
Dear Mrs. DeVos,
First of all, I would like to thank you for your insights and contribution to the newly
launched “Rethink Higher Education” program, which, in my opinion, is going to be an effective
initiative to transform the face of higher education in the USA. In the face of rising inflation and
increased cost of living, the students of the USA are struggling to pursue higher education for a
long time now. Studies show that nearly 42% of the students who enrolled in college in 2012
could not manage to graduate with a degree in 6 years. Therefore, without a degree and a proper
employment opportunities, they are burdened under the crippling student debts that has become
one of the largest financial burden in the history of America. However, with the launched
program, I believe they can fight back and further pursue post-graduation or vocational
education.
In this regard, I would like to draw your attention to the employment opportunities for the
students with disabilities. More than 11% of the total students enrolled in undergraduate
education have some form of disability, which makes it a quite staggering amount in totality.
However, the educational support for such students are very limited till date. According to a
recent survey conducted by University of Connecticut, only 24% of the total schools polled
report to have adequate student resources and support for the students with disability. Given the
inadequate support framework, it is concerning how many students, suffering from some kind of
disability or the other, can actually avail the employment opportunities provided by the “Rethink
Higher Education” program.
Despite the enforcement of the American with Disability Act, there are instances where
disabled persons are discriminated in terms of selection and recruitment. Therefore, if the
educational institutes do not have adequate resources to support such students, it will be even
more problematic for them to access employment opportunities and thus, fall behind on their
persuasion of higher studies.
Therefore, I would like to request to your kind self to extend necessary resources through
federal policies and fund allocations so that the students with disabilities can access adequate
support and take part in the federal work-study experiment. Thanking again for your patience
and kind consideration.
Regards,
(Name and address)
(Date)