Statement from U.S. Department of Education Secretary DeVos Regarding the Restoration of IDEA.ED.GOV





February 17, 2017


U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos issued the following statement regarding the IDEA.ed.gov site:

"This IDEA.ed.gov site and its server hosting IDEA.ed.gov were neglected for nearly four years. This behavior is unacceptable. The restored IDEA.ed.gov site has been moved to a new server, and I've instructed Department staff to begin working with stakeholders to build a new and improved site. This exercise is an example of complacency I won't accept, and I remain committed to improving the Department and its services."


Background:
The server hosting the site crashed on February 8 and that evening the site URL was redirected to a page hosting the most pertinent information. Thorough testing indicated the existing server was not stable and the Department began moving files to a viable hosting solution. An exhaustive review of the site found numerous links and resources outdated, with the last update to the site dating back to 2013. The Department will begin immediately contacting stakeholders to create a new and improved IDEA.ed.gov site.

Parents, educators and individuals with any issues with the website or questions about IDEA should call 1-800-USA-LEARN.


Information source: U.S. Department of Education