Federal Legislation & News
in Special Education
Parents fear losing disability protections as Trump slashes Civil Rights Office
KFF Health News
Devon Price, a 15-year-old boy with autism, has attended the largest school district in North Carolina for 10 years, but he cannot read or write. His twin sister, Danielle, who is also autistic, was bullied by classmates and became suicidal. Under federal law, public schools must provide children with disabilities a “free appropriate public education,” to give them the same opportunity to learn as other kids. The twins’ mother, Emma Miller, and tens of thousands of other parents in the U.S. have elevated complaints to the Education Department alleging that schools and states have ignored mistreatment of their children. Those complaints are in limbo as President Donald Trump’s administration has set about dismantling the federal agency.
ED Cancels TA Centers and Vocational Rehabilitation Assistance Programs
On Friday, September 5, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced its intention to continue funding for 554 awards in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) which are overseen by Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) including programs that support personnel development, Technical Assistance and National Centers, and also awards overseen by Rehabilitative Services Administration (RSA). In addition to these continuations, ED also sent non-continuation letters to 34 grantees funded under OSEP and RSA; and grantees in receipt of non-continuation letters were given seven days to appeal ED’s decision.
New Resources Help Assess Babies and Toddlers for Developmental Delays
With federal backing by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), experts in developmental science and medical social science at Northwestern University have announced the creation of a new NIH Toolbox designed to provide a nationally standardized way to measure infants’ cognitive, language, motor, and social-emotional development from 16 days to 42 months of age. Called the NIH Baby Toolbox, the research-based resources are designed to support parents, medical professionals, communities, and others in identifying early developmental delays or difficulties in infants and toddlers that may lead to long-term challenges.
States struggle with increase in special education complaints
K-12 Dive
The number of special education written state complaints jumped by 22% in the 2023-24 school year compared to the year prior, according to a new analysis by the Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education, a federal technical assistance center. Written state complaints involve a state-led investigation into a special education-related concern brought forward by anyone. CADRE’s data shows there were 9,927 written state complaints filed in 2023-24, which represents a 79% rise over the previous 10-year average of 5,537. CADRE’s analysis is based on data collected by the U.S. Department of Education.
Trump canceled millions for special education teacher training. What’s next?
Ed Week
Twenty-five ongoing projects related to special education got cancellation notices on Friday night from the U.S. Department of Education, imminently jeopardizing more than $30 million worth of federally funded efforts in 14 states to help educators better serve students with disabilities. Cancellations for money that was due to arrive Oct. 1 hit five state education departments, three small nonprofit organizations, 12 universities, and the nation’s oldest K-12 school for the blind. All the affected competitive grants fall under Part D of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, the federal law that enshrines education rights for the nation’s 7 million K-12 students with disabilities. Department officials told the 25 canceled grantees that each of their projects “is inconsistent with, and no longer effectuates, the best interests of the federal government.” In each case, the cancellation notices cite language from the grantees’ application materials that references diversity, equity, inclusion, racism, and related concepts.
When it comes to serving students with disabilities, how are Catholic schools doing?
OSV News
The National Catholic Educational Association’s 2024-2025 annual statistical report expanded its section on serving students with special needs and suggested that disability inclusion in Catholic schools is on the rise. It stated 75.5% of U.S. Catholic schools reported serving students with diagnosed disabilities, meaning “physical, emotional and learning disabilities that are accommodated in general education classrooms with or without special resource teachers.” Meanwhile, NCEA’s data show 9.1% of students in Catholic schools have a diagnosed disability, up from 7.8% last year.
House Democrats Release Report on New Policies that Threaten Civil Rights and Attack Programs Supporting People with Disabilities
Last week, Ranking Member Robert “Bobby” Scott (D-VA), House Education and Workforce Committee, released a new report: Living Independently, Participating Fully: Defending Against the Trump Administration’s Attacks on People with Disabilities. The report outlines how the Administration’s proposed elimination of the Administration for Community Living (ACL) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), deep Medicaid cuts via HR 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and the rollback of equity protections through the elimination of key programs at HHS all threaten the independence and well-being of people with disabilities and older adults. According to Ranking Member Scott, “Whether or not it is part of a multifaceted attack on disabled people, the Administration’s rash and ill-considered decision to dismantle ACL will ultimately undermine the services that enable disabled and older individuals to lead healthy and fulfilling lives in our communities. After more than 50 years of progress during both Republican and Democratic administrations toward greater autonomy, independent living, and equal economic opportunity for people with disabilities, dismantling ACL threatens to move this country backwards.”
ED to Halt Federal Data Collection on Significant Disproportionality
The US Department of Education has announced plans to stop collecting data from states on significant disproportionality. Section 618 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires states to collect these data, and since 2004, when IDEA was last amended by Congress, and 2019, when final regulations were put into place, states have reported these data to the Department. The state and national look at these data helps states determine whether districts are disproportionately identifying black students for special education, specific disability categories, placement in more restrictive settings, or disciplinary actions. Federal law requires states to collect data to identify these imbalances and, when significant disproportionality is found in a school district, the district must reserve 15% of its IDEA funds for coordinated early intervening services (CEIS) and implement a plan to address the contributing factors, often in the general education environment. There is a public comment period, and COPAA will develop comments as well as provide members to comment as well.
Laid-off civil rights staff will return to work next month, Ed. Dept. says
Education Week
Civil rights staff laid off by the U.S. Department of Education will begin returning to work in September, the department told a federal judge this week. Roughly 25 employees from its office for civil rights are slated to return starting Sept. 8, in the first wave of reinstatements set to run through early November, department leaders revealed in a filing submitted to a Massachusetts federal court on Tuesday. The reinstatement schedule comes two months after U.S. District Judge Myong Joun told the agency to bring the staff back—and days after he said the department wasn’t complying with that directive. It’s the first time the Education Department—which has been under court orders since May to reinstate workers—has said it will actually bring any back. The Tuesday court filing was in response to Joun’s June order to restore the hundreds of Office of Civil Rights positions it slashed during a massive reduction in force earlier this year.
COPAA files amicus brief on statute of limitations
COPAA filed an amicus brief in the 4th circuit earlier this month in CD v. Arlington School Board. Longtime COPAA member, Melissa Waugh, represents the family. COPAA’s brief focused on the statute of limitations and child find, or evaluations in all areas of suspected disability. The plain language of the statute makes clear that IDEA’s statute of limitations starts to run when the parents knew or should have known about the facts which give rise to their cause of action (discovery rule), not when the events occurred (occurrence rule). The Hearing Officer and the district court erred in faulting the parent for the delay in raising an objection to the District’s failure to conduct additional evaluation; parents do not have the same access to relevant information as school district personnel. In addition, the parent filed within two years of the date of the “knew or should have known” date, so therefore the filing was in fact timely, consistent with IDEA requirements.
Application of the discovery rule fits within the larger context of IDEA’s goal of ensuring appropriate education for all children with disabilities. School district personnel, with their expertise, are appropriately charged with knowing what it means to assess a child in all suspected areas of disability. When schools fail to comprehensively assess a student, the disturbing result is a delay in necessary interventions. Parents, by contrast, do not have the background to determine what evaluations should be administered. When parents rely upon a school to comprehensively assess their child, and the school fails, the parents cannot know what to do, and the child suffers the loss of an appropriate education.
The text of the statute explicitly states that the timeline for requesting a hearing “is within 2 years of the date the parent or agency knew or should have known about the alleged action that forms the basis of the complaint.” 20 U.S.C. Section 1415(f)(3)(C). This approach encourages school districts to vigorously pursue their obligation to assess all areas of disability and ensure children with disabilities have a full and meaningful remedy as Congress intended. The decision below fails to fulfill the Congressional mandate in IDEA to “enabl[e] each child with special needs to reach his or her full potential.” G.L. v. Ligonier Valley Sch. Dist., 802 F. 3d 601, 626 (3d Cir. 2015). The district court’s approach frustrates the Congressional mandate in IDEA to “enabl[e] each child with special needs to reach his or her full potential.” Id. at 626.
Chairman Cassidy Releases Vision for K-12 Education, Highlights Need for Dyslexia Screening, Early Intervention
In early August, Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released Preventing a Lost Generation: A Vision for K-12 Reforms to Ensure Student Success. The report provides recommendations to solve what Chairman Cassidy describes as [the] “bleak picture” that the nation’s reading scores present -when only three states (Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi) report grade level reading gains back to pre-pandemic levels for 4 th graders and only two (DC and Louisiana) showing progress for 8 th graders. Related to children with distinct learning needs, Cassidy notes, “Many students in public schools are struggling with literacy because they have unidentified and undiagnosed learning needs, such as dyslexia, ADHD, autism, etc.” The report specifies that students with dyslexia “are not being screened at all or not until they are significantly behind…[and] even after screening they are then not being given the support and tools they need to catch-up.” To address students’ literacy needs and with a focus on creating more flexibility with federal K-12 education funds available to states under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), Cassidy lays out three Policy Goals and makes policy recommendations to Congress and the Secretary of Education. The goals are: 1) Improving Student Literacy; 2) Strengthening the Teacher Workforce; and 3) Empowering Parents. The Chairman calls upon the U.S. Department of Education directly to publish a report on states’ uses of ESEA Title II (Professional Learning) funds; to highlight how states/districts can use these funds for innovation; to focus oversight on use of [ESEA] funds; and, to clarify federal rules and regulations about the use of funds.
EdTrust Issues Principles to Advance Equity in State Literacy
EdTrust has published a thirty-page policy report titled 6 Principles to Advance Equity in State Literacy Policy. The report emphasizes that literacy is a fundamental civil right and a gateway to educational success, economic opportunity, and civic engagement. EdTrust data reinforces what we know nationally -that reading proficiency remains alarmingly low in the U.S., especially among students of color, English learners, students with disabilities, and economically disadvantaged students. The report highlights the impact of dyslexia and also outlines six principles to guide policymakers and advocates in addressing the nation’s literacy crisis through equitable, evidence-based state policies. The six principles include: ensuring that instruction is grounded in the science of reading; using culturally relevant materials; providing equitable and differentiated support; investing in high-quality, inclusive early childhood education and family literacy programs; empowering teachers; and equipping families with clear feedback about student progress and co-creating effective strategies for student improvement with families.
Ed Department preparing to cut millions in special education funding, advocates warn
Disability Scoop
In his budget proposal, the president sought to fold preschool grants as well as many activities currently overseen by the Office of Special Education Programs under IDEA Part D into grants that are distributed to states under Part B. But, in its first test before lawmakers, a key Senate panel soundly rejected Trump’s plan for IDEA late last month. The bipartisan vote to keep IDEA as is “stands in direct conflict with what ED is preparing to do,” said Denise S. Marshall, CEO of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, or COPAA, a nonprofit that advocates for the rights of students with disabilities and their families. “Saving money off the backs of our children and the school personnel who work hard to educate them is appalling. Parents need to be meaningful partners in their education as required by statute (and) Part D funds allow them to be trained on their rights and receive support,” Marshall said. “We’ve heard from reputable sources that the withdrawal of funds is imminent, and we urge Congress, state legislators, and governors to raise their voices to say no.”
Ed. Dept. Hasn’t complied with order to restore civil rights staff, judge says
Education Week
A federal judge said Wednesday the U.S. Department of Education has not meaningfully complied with his June order to reinstate hundreds of civil rights enforcement staff after layoffs greatly reduced their ranks. The statement by Judge Myong J. Joun, a Masschusetts-based U.S. district judge, was part of an order he issued denying the Trump administration’s request to drop his initial directive to the agency, which stemmed from an April lawsuit challenging only terminations in the office for civil rights—the Education Department division charged with enforcing federal civil rights laws in the nation’s schools. The administration sought to have Joun overturn his June order after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked another, broader order from Joun in a separate case that directed the Education Department to restore all laid-off staff from across the agency. Administration lawyers argued that aspects of the separate cases were “functionally identical.” But Joun, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, wrote that he was “unconvinced” by the administration’s arguments.
COPAA Explains ED Waiver Authority, Impact on Students with Disabilities
This year, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) has provided States with several guidance documents promoting the Secretary of Education’s waiver authority under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). In response, COPAA has developed an Overview and Frequently Asked Questions resource to help COPAA members understand how ESEA waivers work and how advocates can engage in state applications for waivers.