Federal Legislation & News
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OH: Decision 2025 | After tax levy fails, school for children with developmental disabilities forced to close
WSAZ3 Voters in Lawrence County on Tuesday voted down a ballot measure that would have provided additional tax money for the Lawrence County Board of Developmental Disabilities. Lawrence County DD Superintendent Julie Monroe said that due to the measure failing, they...
NC: Wake County schools paid $1.3M in special-ed settlements
Durham Herald Sun The Wake County school system has paid out at least $1.3 million in legal settlements in special-education cases so far this year, reaching agreements with families who say their children aren’t getting an appropriate education. The 12...
COPAA files amicus brief urging the Third Circuit to recognize student’s right to her administratively-ordered “stay-put” placement
Last week, COPAA and several other advocacy organizations filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in support of a student with a disability who is in the foster care system in Y.C.Q. v. Chichester School District. You can read the...
COPAA files amicus brief with the Sixth Circuit supporting parents’ right to sue states in federal court for IDEA violations
On October 30, COPAA and several other organizations, law firms, lawyers, and legal scholars filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Y.A. v. Hamtramck, a case in which a group parents of children with disabilities sued their...
Senate Takes Steps to Re-Open Government, Deal Prohibits Federal Layoffs Thru January
On the 42nd day of the longest federal shutdown in U.S. history, the U.S. Senate has attracted bipartisan support for a new deal that could lead to reopening the government. The Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 proposal -that passed 60-40- will extend government funding through...
ACT NOW: Tell Congress to Conduct Oversight Hearings to Protect Children with Disabilities
Despite the pending short-term agreement led by the Senate that would allow federal employees to return to work, COPAA remains extremely concerned that the Department of Education (ED) has taken steps to eliminate all but a handful of staff and gut key offices...
Disparate Impact Explainer Released
In response to the federal government’s current lack of support for the disparate impact framework, the Legal Defense Fund, Democracy Forward, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the National Institute for Workers' Rights have released...
How the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act shaped inclusive education over 50 years
OCDE Newsroom Fifty years ago this month, a landmark law changed how schools support students with disabilities. On Nov. 29, 1975, President Gerald Ford signed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act — the first version of what is now known as the Individuals...
Disability advocates cry foul over dismantling of special ed: ‘Our world is on fire’
Disability Scoop Efforts to gut the U.S. Department of Education’s special education office and move the program to another agency are already causing “immediate harm” to students with disabilities, advocates warn. Nearly a month after the Education...
Why shifting special ed oversight could be ‘a public education crisis’
K-12 Dive Special education and disability rights advocates are ramping up their defense of the federal role in the education of students with disabilities as their concerns grow over a potential shift in how the U.S. conducts special education oversight and support....