Federal Legislation & News
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COPAA Files Amicus Brief in Second Circuit Court Regarding the Right of Prevailing Parents To Recover Attorney’s Fees in Federal Court
Last week, COPAA filed an amicus brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in The Law Office of Philippe J. Gerschel v. New York City Department of Education. The brief urges the court to reverse the decision of the United States District...
March 5-National Call-In Day: Tell Congress: Protect Children with Disabilities, Oppose Moving IDEA out of ED
COPAA is joining advocacy groups across the country on March 5 for a National Call-In Day to oppose moving oversight and administration of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) from the U.S....
DOJ Tells St. Louis Special School District that Seclusion and Restraint Practices Violate Federal Law
This week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it has notified the Special School District of St. Louis, Missouri (District) that the District’s seclusion and restraint practices violate Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The District is...
ED Proposes Transfer of Education Safety and Foreign Aid Programs to Other Agencies
Monday, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced two new interagency agreements (IAAs) that will transfer foreign gift and contract reporting for certain domestic public and private institutions of higher education (IHEs) to the U.S. Department of State...
Ed Department Dismissed 90% Of Civil Rights Complaints Alarming Disability Advocates
Disability Scoop The U.S. Department of Education dismissed the vast majority of discrimination complaints it received — likely including many based on disability — all while spending millions in an effort to fire staff charged with investigating such cases....
How special educators can help students when ICE comes to town
K-12 Dive Faced with students staying home or switching to online learning because of immigration enforcement activity, special educators are working to continue individualized services for students with disabilities who are suddenly out of the school building. “When...
Therizinosaurus
The Dinosaur That Broke All the Rules (And Had the Claws to Prove It) Fun fact: the longest claws of any land animal that has ever existed on this planet belonged to a dinosaur that ate plants. One meter long. That's over three feet. Each claw. And it used...
AZ: Voters could have say on reforms for controversial ESA program
ABC15 Several education groups and advocates have come together through a coalition and filed a petition to put reforms on the state’s controversial Empowerment Scholarship Accounts program, or ESA. ESA advocates say these reforms are unnecessary, feeling like the...
CA: How the governor’s budget proposal addresses rising numbers of students in special education
EdSource Student enrollment has been declining in the McFarland Unified School District, so Superintendent Aaron Resendez was surprised to start this school year with an uptick in students who require special education services. The 3,282-student district in rural...
FL: Cameras in special education classrooms move ahead
News From The States Special education rooms could feature cameras watching over students if Florida lawmakers keep up support for a bipartisan bill. The legislation seeks to provide an objective eye in situations in which students, particularly those who are...