Federal Legislation & News
in Special Education
ARCHIVE
For this senator, Trump’s special education layoffs are personal
USA Today For New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan, it felt personal watching more than 120 jobs tied to special education disappear during the U.S. government shutdown. President Donald Trump ordered massive layoffs across the federal workforce, which critics see as part...
LA: Cameras to be installed in special education classrooms statewide
The new school year will bring a major change to special education classrooms across Louisiana, as a recently passed law goes into effect aimed at increasing transparency and student safety. Under Act 479, all self-contained special education classrooms in the state...
NC: NC isn’t meeting federal special education requirements. State officials point to the teacher shortage
North Carolina public schools aren’t evaluating students for special education in a timely manner, they’re not resolving complaints quickly enough, and they’re not properly helping most disabled students 16 and older prepare for adulthood. Those are among the findings...
TN: Critics of Tennessee’s school voucher program worry that it leaves kids with disabilities behind
WPLN News Backers of the new school voucher program promised that it would expand school choice for Tennessee families. But critics worry the program leaves students with disabilities behind. The controversial statewide voucher program – called Education Freedom...
VT: New data shows IEP prevalence at Vermont’s private schools
Vermont Public Vermont’s private schools have long bristled at the notion that they cherry-pick their students. Those claims come from public education advocates, who say independent schools that benefit from taxpayer funds nevertheless turn away students with higher...
VA: VA school divisions repay nearly $30 million in misused special ed funds; one division disputes
Virginia Mercury Three school divisions were alerted that they misused federal funds intended for students with disabilities have made nearly $30 million in total repayments, according to the state Department of Education, which will be returned to the federal...
WI: Wisconsin to lose special education teacher programs under Trump cut
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Despite objections from Wisconsin's K-12 education agency, the federal government upheld its decision to cut a state grant intended to support special education teachers. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction had appealed a decision...
Victory in the Tenth Circuit for Students with Intellectual Disabilities Seeking Individualized Educational Placements
In an important victory last week in Jacobs v. Salt Lake City School District, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled in favor of the plaintiffs—two students with intellectual disabilities and the Disability Law Center— in their lawsuit...
Broad Coalition of Disability, Civil Rights, and Education Organizations Call for Reversal of Layoffs at Department of Education
Today, COPAA and more than 385 local, state, and national organizations joined together to call for a reversal of the layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education that impact all offices responsible for supporting children with disabilities, their families, and their...
Unjust Firings at ED Harms Students with Disabilities
WASHINGTON, DC – In response to the most recent cuts made by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) that eliminate hundreds of jobs within the agency, COPAA CEO Denise Marshall made the following statement: On Friday, the Department of Education...