Federal Legislation & News
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A landmark special education law is 50. Some fear for its future
NPR Fifty years ago, just after Thanksgiving of 1975, President Gerald Ford signed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, the landmark law that created special education as it exists today, and guaranteed all children with disabilities the right to a "free...
IDEA turns 50 — And so did I. Only one of us is aging gracefully.
CT Examiner This year, on November 29th, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act—our nation’s promise to children with disabilities—turned 50. I also turned 50 in November. Unlike the IDEA, though, I did not require Congressional reauthorization to get here,...
Federal special education staff may get their jobs back. But for how long?
NPR The Trump administration has fired, or tried to fire, many of the federal staff at the U.S. Department of Education who manage and enforce federal disability law, though Education Secretary Linda McMahon has said federal funding for special education is not at...
The challenge of moving special education out of the Education Department
POLITICO Advocates for children with disabilities — and even some Republican lawmakers — are warning that the federal government needs to preserve its special education programs as the Trump administration moves to dismantle the Education Department. Education...
Damage to come from dismembering the U.S. Dept. of Ed
New America The U.S. Department of Education (ED) was created to help ensure that every student has access to a high-quality public education. The Trump Administration’s decision last week to move many of our country’s core education programs to other federal agencies...
Warren: Trump, McMahon will destroy public education | Opinion
USA Today Shortly after she was sworn in, I invited Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to my office. I looked her dead in the eye and asked, “Now, I just want to be clear, do you think you can shut down the Department of Education?” She looked straight back at me...
Teacher shortages hinder special education progress. What are the solutions?
K-12 Dive Special education staff turnover is a constant challenge at Godwin Heights Public Schools in Michigan. Sometimes a special education role will turn vacant just a month or six weeks after the district hired someone because they start and leave so quickly,...
COPAA Provides Letter of Support for Shifting Burden of Proof in Massachusetts
COPAA urged the Massachusetts legislature to enact H.4217, which would restore the burden of proof in special education due process hearings to school districts in order to ensure that students with disabilities and their families have meaningful access to due...
FL: Florida bill targets elopement by students with disabilities
Spectrum News 13 A house bill filed by a Central Florida representative aims at creating a plan for public school staff if a student with a disability elopes, or runs away unattended. House Bill 423 was filed by State Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-District 42. The bill would...
WA: 54 families now taking legal action against former school for students with special needs
king5.com More than 50 families are stepping forward, taking legal action against a former school for children with special needs that received public funding. Several public school districts in western Washington had contracts to send students to the Northwest School...