Special Education
Laws & News
Across the States
DC: DC Schools discriminated against students with disabilities, OCR finds
The 74
The District of Columbia Public Schools violated the civil rights of students with disabilities and created an “adversarial system,” that often forces families to sue in order for their kids to receive services, the U.S. Department of Education announced Wednesday. After a yearlong investigation, the department’s Office for Civil Rights said the district must create a new division focusing on students with disabilities, improve transportation services for those students, and take steps to better identify and accommodate their needs. “The district must take immediate action to remedy their violations and protect the rights of current and future students to a free and appropriate public education,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said in a statement. The proposed resolution agreement also requires the district to train staff, including bus drivers, on any updated policies. If officials don’t agree to the terms, OCR “may initiate enforcement,” the announcement said.
The district, which said from the outset that it would cooperate with the department, is “carefully reviewing” the findings, a spokesman said, adding that OCR makes important points about providing clear information to parents and getting their children to and from school.
With OCR largely focusing its resources on investigating districts that allow students to compete in sports or use bathrooms based on gender identity, the D.C. investigation is one of the few disability-related cases it has launched and completed since President Donald Trump returned to office.
LA: LA GATOR serves many poor students, few with disabilities
nola.com
Nearly all of the students who participated in Louisiana’s new private choice program come from low-income families, but just 4% have diagnosed disabilities, according to state data.
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MI: Advocates want more resources to boost inclusion of special education students
Spartan Newsroom
Michigan spends about $2.8 billion annually on special education, yet outcomes for students with disabilities remain uneven and among the lowest in the nation, according to a recent benchmark report from the Autism Alliance of Michigan. Advocates say improving inclusion and support systems is key to closing those gaps. “Just having students in the general education setting is not the only step,” said Heather Eckner, the director of statewide education for the Southfield-based alliance. “That’s step one. The other steps are providing the support so they can actually access that education,” she said.
Under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, public schools are expected to educate most students with disabilities in general classrooms for at least 80% of the school day when appropriate. Michigan is close to that goal, Eckner said, but outcomes such as graduation rates and dropout rates remain concerning. “We’re close to the aim of the federal law,” she said. “However, our outcomes for students with IEPs (Individualized Education Programs) remain among the lowest in the nation.” In Michigan, students with disabilities drop out at more than twice the rate of their peers, according to the report.
NC: Wake school board to meet over $18 million special education cut
Durham Herald Sun
Wake County school board chair Tyler Swanson has scheduled a special board meeting on Tuesday to discuss a controversial proposed $18 million cut to the special education budget. This week, school administrators announced the cut, which will result in the elimination of 130 special education teaching positions. Swanson said the board needs to discuss the issue “to ensure transparency and accountability regarding the $18 million deficit in our special education budget.” “As a former special education teacher, I am deeply concerned about the impact this will have on our students, our educators, and our broader school community,” Swanson said in a statement Friday on his Facebook page. “These are not just numbers on a page — this is about real support, real services and real outcomes for children who depend on us.”
WI: Vos says he’s open to boosting special education funding as part of plan to spend budget surplus
State Affairs Pro
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Assembly Democrats’ $1.3 billion proposal to spend down the state’s surplus “wasn’t serious,” but he was “open to” spending more on special education. Democrats on Monday proposed to increase general school aid by $445.9 million and raise the special education reimbursement to 60%. “The challenge the Assembly Democrats have is it’s been so long since many of them have been involved in governing,” Vos said, adding, “It basically took the entire surplus and put it into funding special ed – which, frankly, I’m open to that idea, to some extent,” Vos said at a WisPolitics luncheon any potential deal would have to include property tax relief. But he said there should be a 50-50 split between state investment and tax relief. He also said he would be open to backfilling the current budget to reach the 42% and 45% special ed reimbursement targets the Legislature planned to meet but fell short of after cost projections were revised.
CA: Special education has become a flash point in negotiations with teachers
EdSource
When more than 90% of San Diego Unified School District teachers voted to authorize a strike, it wasn’t just about pay increases or health care benefits — it was about special education caseloads that some teachers say are pushing them out of the profession. Salary and health care are still central at the bargaining table, but the working conditions of special education teachers have become a major point of friction in labor negotiations with teachers this school year. It was also a sticking point for high-profile teacher strikes in West Contra Costa and San Francisco. The role of special education at the bargaining table is different in every district in California, said Naj Alikhan, senior director of marketing and communications for the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA).“While issues at the table are different around the state, it is fair to say that the cost of serving our students with special needs is a cost pressure that is impacting everyone,” said Alikhan.
N.J. education challenges 2026: What Sherrill must address
nj.com
Special education advocates also say Sherrill’s administration needs to consider making major changes to how funding is distributed for students with disabilities. The special education portion of the formula sends too much money to some districts and not enough to others, said Peg Kinsell, director of public policy at SPAN Parent Advocacy Network, an organization that supports families of students in special education. There are almost 250,000 students with disabilities in New Jersey schools. Rather than look at each district’s enrollment numbers for this group, the state’s school funding formula uses a statewide average based on Census data. Last year, Gov. Phil Murphy’s budget used special education enrollment numbers instead of the average to determine how much money to send to each district. But this change is not permanent or part of the law and Kinsell said it didn’t go far enough.
NC: A tool meant to support students could be delaying needed special education services
WUNC News
For families whose kids need special education services, the system they have to pass through can sometimes be an obstacle instead of a help. Starting in 2020, all North Carolina schools were required to use a framework called Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, or MTSS, to help identify struggling students. But some families and advocates say the system is creating delays for children who need special education services. In 2015, teachers in Greene County Schools told Antonio and Lynne Blow that their son, Walker, was struggling with reading comprehension. The Blows thought Walker would receive the academic interventions he needed to get back on track. “We were hearing from the schools that there were some concerns,” Antonio Blow said. “So we were hoping that they would have the answers to how to move him forward.” Walker was in first grade then. In second grade, his parents sought special education services but were denied. Instead, they say the school spent years providing interventions that fell just short of special education through a tiered system that eventually became known as MTSS, with little improvement.
TN: State lawmaker hopes to pass bill requiring training for special education students
WZTV
House Bill 0448, which Glynn first introduced last year, would require all teachers to receive specialized training in de-escalation and conflict resolution for special education students. “And so what this bill does is give them those few things or few tools they need to ensure that they are ready and able to handle that child, so that it doesn’t create a harmful situation for the child,” says Rep. Glynn. Glynn says that while every teacher currently gets general training, they lack focused instruction for students with special needs. He’s proposing three to four classes that cover those crucial first moments with a child, when the right approach can prevent harm. “When you think about a child who has special needs, it is that first initial contact and what we do in that first moment that really can determine how that situation turns out. So yes, by giving the teachers that tool, I think we can alleviate incidents where teachers are unfortunately in situations that they’re not equipped for.”
WV: Legislation would change school funding framework, but not for another three years
WV MetroNews
The House of Delegates will consider legislation that will change funding for local school systems, although it wouldn’t kick in until three years from now. “I support this bill, and I will continue to support this bill,” said Delegate Clay Riley, vice chairman of the House Finance Committee, although he said more work might need to continue on the specifics. HB 5453 is a significant revision of the current public school funding formula to make it simpler, more transparent, and more aligned with student needs — especially special education — while moving away from the current step-based, multi-schedule formula.
The House Finance Committee discussed and advanced a revised version of the legislation on Friday afternoon.