Today, after a weekend-long marathon and by a vote of 51-50, the U.S. Senate passed H.R. 1, the Big Beautiful Bill (BBB), which incorporates key tax credit extensions for businesses and other changes to federal spending that impact health care, immigration, education,...
In a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) to Chief State School Officers on June 26th, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) highlighted key parts of Title I of Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) which requires states and districts to give parent some flexibility in...
In a blow to state and local school budgets, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) has sent an unsigned email to states announcing that certain funding for the school year 2025-2026 will not be issued on July 1. ED noted that “Decisions have not been made concerning...
Last week, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee voted along party lines, 12-11, to advance several nominees for key leadership positions at the U.S. Department of Education (ED), the Department of Labor, and the Equal Employment...
K-12 Dive A White House plan to consolidate pockets of special education funding in fiscal year 2026 has critics concerned that vital programs will be cut or loosely absorbed into remaining special education allocations. Supporters, however, see the budget restructure...
The 74 In February, NCLD was alarmed to learn that the National Center for Education Statistics, the primary agency responsible for administering NAEP, had been reduced to a staff of three. Both administering the test and disaggregating and reporting the resulting...
The 74 In a powerful story and state-by-state data analysis this week, my colleague Amanda Geduld offers disturbing new insight into the degree to which children with disabilities are disproportionately subjected to school suspensions, sometimes for minor infractions....
NPR On Monday, the Trump administration notified states that it was withholding over $6 billion in previously approved federal education grants to schools. The announcement came a day before the July 1 deadline when those funds have traditionally been dispersed, and...
Thank you to those COPAA members who have shared your stories about why Medicaid matters and the harms it will cause to you/your family if Congress's proposed [deep] cuts are made to Medicaid through budget reconciliation. Your voice is making a difference, as some...