Federal Legislation & News
in Special Education
ARCHIVE
PA: Rising special education costs hit PA school districts as federal funding fails to keep pace
fox43.com As school districts across Pennsylvania finalize their budgets, many are facing difficult financial decisions tied to the rising cost of special education services. Educators and school leaders say growing enrollment, increasingly complex student needs,...
TX: Another Houston-area school district is consolidating special education programs for the upcoming school year
Houston Public Media As Houston ISD faces a federal civil rights investigation over its plans to consolidate special education services, another large district in the region is making similar changes to how it serves students with disabilities. Cy-Fair ISD, the...
WV: Coalition urges immediate pause on West Virginia school closures
WCHS-TV School closures and consolidations have impacted many areas in West Virginia, with nearly 20 schools currently at risk of closing their doors. Together for Public Schools West Virginia is a coalition that is now urging state lawmakers to put an immediate pause...
Technology helps some students with disabilities excel. Now it’s leaving schools
NPR Much of the pivot away from screens in schools has come from parents who are concerned screen use is getting in the way of their children's learning — an argument Heather Martin hears in her own community in Concord, 30 miles northeast of San Francisco. She shares...
Rethinking the Debate Over Rising Disability Accommodations in Higher Education
American Bar Association Recent pieces in the media, including The Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic, have reported on the dramatic rise in disability accommodations at elite colleges—with much of the increase tied to conditions such as ADHD,...
CO: Bill strengthening protections for students with disabilities signed into law
KOAA On Friday, Governor Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 125 (SB 125) into law. It strengthens protections for students with disabilities and creates a formal state level complaint process for families when students are denied accommodations. After signing SB...
TX: Texas’ school discipline push drives kids to ‘jail-like’ DAEP schools
Hechinger Report Angela Comfort still can’t explain exactly what went wrong. Her son, Jordan, an honors student in Garland, Texas, got in trouble with school officials this February for distributing flyers on campus about a protest against Immigration and Customs...
TX: Texas school police investigation: 5 takeaways
The New York Times Anabelle Jaramillo’s first and only encounter with the police officers in her Texas high school happened when she was accused of stealing a $13 classroom doorbell in 2024. Anabelle, a 17-year-old honor student, told an assistant principal that she...
TX: From school closures to staff cuts, Texas admins will detail budget woes to lawmakers
Houston Public Media The influx of nearly $8.5 billion to Texas schools last year did not stop many from cutting programs, eliminating staffing and closing campuses. On Monday, school leaders from across the state will detail the financial challenges still...
TX: Cy-Fair ISD officer repeatedly used hogtie restraint on fifth grader
One Monday afternoon in October 2023, a Cy-Fair ISD police officer tracked down a fifth-grader who had run away from his school for students with behavioral challenges. The boy had left campus before. But this time when he wouldn’t get in the police car, the officer...
