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...
Federal
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
