This federal data helps shape policy. It’s 6 months late

by kids1stadvocac | Jul 7, 2026 | Federal

NPR For more than 50 years, the Education Department has revealed a host of realities about how students are being treated in every public school across America: which kids are being bullied, which ones are being harassed and which students can access the internet,...

Special ed, civil rights are largely leaving Education Department

by kids1stadvocac | Jun 23, 2026 | Federal

NPR Two of the U.S. Department of Education’s biggest responsibilities will shift to other federal agencies: safeguarding student civil rights and administering programs for students with disabilities. The Trump administration said Tuesday it will move much of...

TX: Dozens of parents speak out against Houston ISD’s special education changes

by kids1stadvocac | May 19, 2026 | State

Houston Public Media Dozens of parents, teachers, and students spoke out against Houston ISD’s move to centralize special education services at the district’s school board meeting Thursday night. The plan, announced last week after several news outlets,...

NY: Special education gap: NYC private school tuition payments flow mostly to white students

by kids1stadvocac | May 12, 2026 | State

Chalkbeat As Mayor Zohran Mamdani scrambles to plug a multi-billion-dollar budget gap, his administration is looking more closely at the money New York City spends on private school tuition for students with disabilities. The payments — which topped $723 million last...

COPAA Releases New Fact Sheet on the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

by kids1stadvocac | May 12, 2026 | Federal

COPAA has released a new LRE Fact Sheet to protect and advance the civil rights of students with disabilities at a moment when those rights are increasingly under threat. The right to learn alongside nondisabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate is a cornerstone...