Special Education Legislation Updates

Special education news

Updated: JANUARY 28, 2025

FEDERAL NEWS AND LEGISLATION

White House Orders Pause on Federal Agency Grants and Financial Assistance Programs, Full Impact on Education Unclear

Last night, the White House issued a memo ordering all federal agency heads to pause all federal assistance programs as of 5pm tonight and review them to ensure they are consistent with President Trump’s policies, including those that ban diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives, anti-transgender policies, or other executive actions. By February 10, agencies are to report all “programs, projects, and activities that may be implicated” and in the meantime, “to the extent permissible under applicable law” stop all obligations or disbursements of federal funds, including new and existing awards and “other relevant agency actions that may be implicated by the executive orders.” OMB can make exemptions, and this order does not apply to assistance provided directly to individuals (such as Pell grants) or to Medicare or Social Security benefits. The order does not appear to affect most K-12 formula grant programs because those programs (IDEA, Title I etc.) are “forward funded” and received their Fiscal Year 2025 funding on either July 1 or October 1, 2024; however, research grants -that include subcontracts such as COPAA’s 504 survey work with Vanderbilt University- and other grants focused on students with disabilities and their families may be impacted. COPAA will share further updates as we learn more.

National School Choice Week Recognized

The U.S. Department of Education announced its celebration and recognition of National School Choice Week which runs Jan. 26 through Jan. 31, 2025. Marking the week’s 15 th anniversary, the Department noted, “[we] will celebrate…by highlighting K-12 education options available to students and families, including traditional public schools, public charters, public magnet schools, online options, private schools, and a wealth of homeschool options.” COPAA supports public school choice as well as state and/or privately funded school choice options that maintain student civil rights under federal law.

Senior Political Appointees Announced for U.S. Department of Education

President Trump has appointed an incoming team of senior-level political appointees at the U.S. Department of Education (ED) including Dr. Penny Schwinn to serve as Deputy Education Secretary. Schwinn comes to the position with experience in K-12 education and a a strong proponent of charter schools. She has held top administrative positions with state agencies in Tennessee, Texas, and Delaware, as well as in large urban school districts. Those joining Schwinn at ED include Rachel Oglesby, Chief of Staff; Jonathan Pidluzny, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Programs; Craig Trainor, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Office for Civil Rights; and returning Deputy General Counsel, Candice Jackson. The Senate nomination hearing date for Linda McMahon to serve as Secretary of Education has not been announced.

ED Takes Steps to End Department-Supported DEI

The U.S. Department of Education has announced efforts are underway to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) from within and supported by the Department. Calling DEI “harmful,” the press release highlights efforts to halt current initiatives, eliminate public-facing DEI-related content from its website, put personnel overseeing DEI efforts on paid leave, and more.

U.S. Department of Education Launches Investigation into Denver Public Schools for Converting Girl’s Restroom to All-Gender Facility

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today announced an investigation into the Denver Public Schools District for discriminating against its female students by converting a female restroom into an all-gender restroom in its largest high school. As a result, East High School now has an exclusive restroom for male students and no restroom for female students on its second floor.

New Brief Highlights Ways to Create Accessible and Inclusive Digital Learning

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology (OET) and Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) released K-12 Digital Infrastructure: Accessibility , the fourth brief in a series focused on critical aspects of building and maintaining digital infrastructure in K-12 education. With a goal to look toward the future “where digital infrastructure empowers inclusive and equitable education for all students, particularly those with disabilities and multilingual learners,” the brief serves as a comprehensive guide to creating accessible and inclusive digital ecosystems in education.

CRDC Data Released for School Year 2021-2022

The US Department of Education has released the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) for the 2021-22 school year and included a First Look Report . This dataset includes data collected from all k-12 schools in the nation receiving federal funds, including regular school district-run schools, charters, vocational-technical schools, and school in juvenile justice facilities — a total of 98,010 schools. Advocates, analysts, and education agencies use the CRDC to document patterns of inequality of opportunity. It is also used in litigation and administrative complaints.

Special education formal disputes see notable increases | K-12 Dive

The number of special education due process complaints filed nationally rose significantly — by 16.4% — from the 2021-22 to the 2022-23 school year. However, the majority of the special education legal actions in 2022-23 — 65.6% — came from one state, New York, according to a newly released analysis by the Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education. Also between the two school years, written state complaints increased by a third, 32.4%, according to CADRE, a federal technical assistance center that works to prevent and resolve special education disputes at the local and state levels. While CADRE’s analysis does not delve into why these formal dispute resolution activities are on the rise, experts in the field say severe special education teacher shortages and increases in school-family conflicts may be contributing factors.

STATE NEWS AND LEGISLATION

CO: U.S. Department of Justice investigates reported “seclusion and restraint” used against disabled Colorado students | CBS Colorado

A sweeping federal investigation into the Douglas County School District has hundreds of unearthed allegations of systemic discrimination and mistreatment, with families and advocates calling for urgent reform to protect students from racial harassment and harmful practices like “seclusion” and “restraint.” CBS News Colorado is learning more about the complaints that prompted a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the Douglas County School District. Investigators from the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department were in Colorado last week, looking into complaints against DCSD “regarding potential discrimination, harassment, or bullying on the basis of race, national origin, religion, or disability, and the district’s use of seclusion and restraint against students with disabilities,” the Justice Department said in an email to parents.

CT: Special education in need of overhaul in Connecticut, report finds

As state lawmakers prepare to debate just how much money to put towards special education, a new report provides a peek into what that funding fight might entail this legislative session. In a report released this month, the Task Force to Study Special Education Services and Funding issued a series of recommendations for the state legislature on how to improve special education in Connecticut, from raising teacher salaries to millions in more funding for districts. Legislators have already named special education funding a priority this session, with Senate Bill 1 aiming to increase resources for students, schools and special education specifically. The task force recommendations provide early insight into what that bill might end up looking like.

CT: Opinion: It’s Time To End Restraint And Seclusion In Schools | CT News Junkie

At the Center for Children’s Advocacy, we continue to hear from families concerned about children with disabilities who are injured or traumatized in school after being subjected to physical force and isolation. As the former state Child Advocate, I have seen evidence of seclusion spaces that consist of little more than a closet or even a padded cell. Most of the children subject to restraint and seclusion in our state are elementary school age, usually boys, often with developmental disabilities, typically children of color. I have read numerous investigations into concerning incidents of restraint of children, including those leading to injury, where adults concluded that the staff response to the child’s “behavior” was understandable, and that injury was unavoidable, and therefore no concerns need be addressed. These findings are typical, and they are usually wrong.

NC: NC schools are struggling to hire special education teachers. Parents are filing complaints

North Carolina schools are increasingly struggling to hire and retain qualified special education teachers, leaving some students without properly trained faculty who know how to provide specialized services. A worsening shortage of such teachers is also leaving schools vulnerable to state scrutiny over whether they’re following special education law, state records indicate. There’s no official record of how often people file complaints of unqualified staff providing special education services. But a review of state records shows it happens frequently across the state and that schools are increasingly at risk of violating state and federal guidelines.

WA: In tight budget year, pressure builds to boost WA school funding | Lake Chelan Mirror

For Texans with disabilities, the 2023 legislative session offered mixed results. Advocacy organizations won a long fight to increase wages for personal care attendants. But other initiatives related to education and voting accessibility didn’t become law. For the 2025 session, disability groups say some items will return to their legislative wishlist. Advocates will also keep an eye on how education savings account, or ESA, bills could affect opportunities for students with disabilities in the state.