The high school senior's joy quickly spread online, and he was trending on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, as recently as Thursday. And his newfound fame has drawn attention to the challenges faced by people with learning disabilities. His parents recently told People magazine that Gus has ADHD, anxiety and a condition called nonverbal learning disorder. Google searches for the disorder and the boy's name have skyrocketed.
There is no standard definition of nonverbal learning disability. It doesn't mean that people with this disorder cannot speak. But according to Columbia University's NVLD Project, people with this disorder “suffer from a range of symptoms, including social and spatial impairments. They are often marginalized and isolated, and as a result may experience social barriers throughout their lives.”
Federal funding for special education has long been a source of tension between Washington and local school districts. Federal law requires schools to provide special education services, but it doesn't come close to covering the costs. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), passed in 1975, required the federal government to cover 40% of the average per-student expenditures on special education. Today, it only covers about 13%.
That's why the Democratic platform adopted at their convention this week reads, “We support fully funding IDEA to prioritize students with disabilities and special educators.” This year's Republican platform makes no mention of special education. But dozens of national education groups have long called for fully funding the costs IDEA imposes on local schools.
The actual outlook for funding increases under a Harris-Waltz administration is unclear and will depend largely on future federal budget projections and the makeup of the next Congress, and the policy platform is not binding for candidates.
However, as governor, Governor Walz has approved significant increases to the education budget, including for special education. The biennial budget he signed into law for 2024 includes a 6% increase in per-pupil funding for local schools and indexes future funding to inflation. It also includes a significant increase in state support for special education to make up for federal funding shortfalls.
Ensuring adequate funding for special education at the national level is a “top public policy priority” for the National Association of State Special Education Directors, said its executive director, John Eisenberg, who calls the federal law “first and foremost a civil rights law, designed to protect the right of students with disabilities to an education in the nation's public schools.”
Eisenberg said the lack of federal promises is a problem across the country. He said the federal government has provided only 16 percent of the money over the years, meaning local governments and states have had to foot the bulk of the costs of their obligations under the law.
“The cost of educating students with disabilities has risen substantially,” Eisenberg said. “The number of students with disabilities has doubled since 1975. The types of needs students have also increased exponentially since 1975.”
Bills requiring full funding have garnered bipartisan support for years but have yet to become law.
Governor Walz, a former social studies teacher, and First Lady Gwen Walz, a former English teacher, revealed Gus' learning disabilities in a statement to People magazine published this week.
“As our youngest son, Gus, grew up, it became increasingly clear that he was different from his classmates,” they say. “He preferred to play video games and spend time alone.” They continue: “As he became a teenager, we discovered that Gus had anxiety disorders, ADHD, and a nonverbal learning disorder — conditions that affect millions of Americans.”
The Waltzes told People magazine that it took them a while to figure out how to set Gus up for future success, “but it quickly became clear that Gus's condition wasn't a disability, but his secret strength.”
She also said that Walz is “intelligent, very attentive to details that many of us overlook, and above all else, a wonderful son.” But she did not elaborate on how Walz's illness has affected his life, and Walz's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. The Walz campaign has previously said that Gass got his driver's license last fall.
Associated Press writer Heather Hollingsworth contributed to this report from Mission, Kansas.