2020 was a significant year for millions of graduating high school seniors, as some schools right here in South Georgia hosted drive-thru, socially distanced, or virtual ceremonies, while others did not even have a ceremony. But one family remembers that time as a...
In the News
LA: Federal oversight of special education in New Orleans could soon end
Louisiana Illuminator A decade of court oversight of special education services in New Orleans public schools, the result of a legal settlement, will most likely cease by the end of the year, the judge presiding over the legal settlement said Wednesday. The decision,...
TN: LGBTQ+, disabled students face exclusion from private schools
Nashville Banner More than 170 of the 241 Tennessee private schools eligible to receive state-funded vouchers in the first year of the Education Freedom Scholarship program have a publicly listed admission inclusion policy. Many of the schools post a version of this...
Congressional Democrats Decry Dismantling of Disability Labor Protections
A coalition of 56 Democratic lawmakers, led by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Reps Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Lateefah Simon (D-CA), sent a letter to Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer condemning what they describe as the “most...
WH Issues EO to Modernize Foster Care System
The White House (WH) has issued an executive order (EO) titled Fostering the Future for American Children and Families. The EO directs federal agencies to modernize the child welfare system and expand support for young people in or leaving foster care. It tasks the...
Special education: Department of Education cuts are leaving kids with disabilities behind
Slate When reduction-in-force notices went out to hundreds of Department of Education employees as part of the shutdown, more than 100 of these DOE workers were part of the team that oversaw special ed around the country. They ensured resources got distributed...
Federal special education staff may get their jobs back. But for how long?
OPB The deal Congress reached to re-open the federal government requires the Trump administration to reinstate federal workers who were fired in October, including those charged with overseeing the nation’s special education laws. But it’s not clear how long they’ll...
As Government Reopens, Ed Department Brings Back Fired Special Education Staffers
Disability Scoop A deal to end the nation’s longest-ever government shutdown is reversing plans to gut the U.S. Department of Education’s special education office and providing funds for other disability programs — at least temporarily. President Donald Trump signed...
Special educator shortages demand tailored solutions, Brookings Institution says
K-12 Dive Some 45 states reported special education teacher shortages in the 2023-24 school year, according to a Learning Policy Institute study from July that Brookings cited. A separate report from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences...
