Mother Jones On Wednesday, a leaked draft Health and Human Services budget document revealed, among other sweeping cuts to health- and disability-related services, that Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s department plans to defund protection and advocacy services for...
Federal
Bills in Congress detail path to closing the Education Department
K-12 Dive Several Republican-led bills introduced in Congress this year propose how to divide up the U.S. Department of Education’s responsibilities among other federal agencies — and thereby carry out President Donald Trump’s plan to eliminate the 45-year-old agency....
Special needs students are underserved in DODEA schools, watchdog report finds
Stars and Stripes Some special needs students attending Defense Department schools are being underserved due to staffing shortages and high turnover among special education personnel, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said in a report released Thursday. The...
Amici File Brief in the 5th Circuit in Support of Parent’s Win in U.S. District Court
COPAA and The Texas Organization of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (TOPAA) filed an amicus brief in the 5th Circuit in North East ISD v. I.M. on Friday, April 11, 2025. IDEA mandates that children with disabilities receive a FAPE tailored to their unique academic...
Students, additional parents join lawsuit challenging Department of Education’s abandoning of civil rights investigations
On April 10, 2025 multiple parents and students, including COPAA members, from various states across the country have joined a federal lawsuit that seeks to restore the functions of the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and reverse recent...
White House Directs Federal Agencies to Bypass Public Notice Process
In a memo to Federal Agency heads last week, the White House instructed agencies to undertake a 60-day review process to “identify unlawful and potentially unlawful regulations” and take immediate steps to eliminate and/or finalize rules “without notice and comment”,...
House ED Committee Blocks Move to Divulge ED Reorganization Plans
On Wednesday, April 9, the House Education and Workforce Committee voted along party lines to adversely report H. Res. 237, a resolution to require the Administration to provide documentation of their plans to reorganize the U.S. Department of Education (ED). The...
Court Pauses ED’s DEI Directive Requiring State Certification of Compliance
On April 10, a U.S. District Court required the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to temporarily halt any action related to a directive issued on April 3. The new certification required States to sign an assurance to document that all K-12 schools comply with...
Students with disabilities lost a helpful program to DOGE cuts
NPR If you visit the website for Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), you'll find a "Wall of Receipts" listing more than 7,000 federal contracts it has terminated. Little detail is provided, besides the "savings" from each cancellation, and it's...
