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Feds proceed with $5.6M special education spending study
K-12 Dive A long-anticipated national study of special education spending by the U.S. Department of Education is taking its first step by asking for clearance from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget to begin its work, according to a notice planned for...
FDA may finally make it illegal to shock Autistic kids as punishment
Mother Jones In March 2024, the Food and Drug Administration under President Joe Biden introduced a new rule that would have banned, after decades, the use of electric shocks on disabled children as a form of punishment. A ban on forcibly shocking kids—which the...
OK: Democrat lawmakers express frustration over public school failures
OCPA n recent years, most Democratic lawmakers have opposed school-choice programs that allow parents to use their tax dollars to send a child to private school rather than keep the child in a local public school. But during a recent legislative debate, two Oklahoma...
NE: Nebraska passes special ed bill without proposed protections for students
The 74 For Dave Murman, the issue was personal. The Republican state lawmaker knew Nebraska school districts were denying transfer requests at high rates to students with disabilities — kids who reminded Murman of his now-grown daughter. In 2025, he proposed a bill to...
NC: Chatham County second grader with autism publishes book navigating loss of school support
WRAL.com When Hollee Ferrara went to her son, Xion’s school for a three-year review of his individualized educational plan, often referred to as an IEP, she came prepared with a 19-page medical review and expected everything to go smoothly. What she didn’t...
Why emotional disturbance is a double-edged sword for students
NPR Before Walter even reached kindergarten, his teachers were kicking him out of class. " I kind of noticed that he was like really aggressive," his mom, Crystal Deramus, remembered. "Like, instead of him expressing himself, he throws things, he throws tantrums, he...
Trump sidestepped Congress on more than $1 billion in ed. spending last year
Education Week The U.S. Department of Education took roughly $1 billion Congress appropriated for specific education programs during the first months of President Donald Trump’s second term and either spent it differently than how lawmakers intended or hasn’t spent it...
For kids with disabilities, early intervention boosts academics later
Disability Scoop Accessing early intervention services like speech, occupational, physical or behavioral therapy in the first years of life can lead to more than developmental gains, new research suggests. Children who receive early intervention by age 3 score better...
Study: Catholic schools vary widely on inclusion of students with disabilities
The Pillar A new survey from the National Catholic Partnership on Disability found that Catholic school systems in the U.S. vary widely in their practices of including students with disabilities. Many Catholic school leaders voiced a desire for their diocesan...
Federal funds for schools will still flow through Ed. Dept. system—For now
Education Week Despite ongoing efforts to transition federal education programs to other agencies, billions of federal dollars for K-12 schools will continue to flow through the U.S. Department of Education’s grant portal this summer, the nation’s top K-12 official...
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