Federal Legislation & News
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Labor-H Spending Bill Primed for Final Passage, IDEA Receives $20 M Bump
As reported last week, the House and Senate appropriators reached an agreement on the final text and accompanying Joint Explanatory Statements (Statement) for the remaining spending bills for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 which includes the Labor, Health and Human Services,...
ED Drops Legal Appeal of K-16 DEI Guidance
The Trump Administration has dropped its appeal of a federal court ruling that blocked the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) anti–diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) campaign, leaving the lower court’s decision in effect. The dispute arose when ED issued a Dear...
For students with disabilities, the Office for Civil Rights is often the last line of defense (OPINION)
K-12 Dive The path to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education will have a generational impact — eliminating the safeguards that have ensured all students have access to equitable, inclusive schools since the department’s founding in 1979. Specifically, the recent...
A missed opportunity in SEL: Centering students with disabilities
Education Week Explicitly teaching students social-emotional skills, like social awareness and goal-setting, can lead to stronger relationships, academic gains, and a greater sense of well-being, research shows. Experts say that may be especially true for...
CA: State settles with Sacramento schools over enrollment
The Center Square California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a settlement Friday with the Sacramento City Unified School District following an investigation into enrollment policies that allegedly discriminated against students. The settlement resolves...
CT: Report: Problems persist in CT special ed system despite federal compliance
The Register Citizen Flaws in Connecticut’s special education system are impeding the state’s ability to provide adequate services to students, according to a report released Wednesday by state Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker. Russell-Tucker...
FL: As lawmakers fix Florida’s school voucher system, educators, students cope with financial fallout
WLRN After Juliet Sanomi came to the realization that traditional public school wasn't the right setting for her son, who has autism, she decided to take matters into her own hands. She started a school where he and others like him would thrive. She began that mission...
FL: Florida proposing school emergency plan for runaway disabled students
islandernews.com Florida is seeking to ease parents' concerns by creating a plan for public schools, including forming an emergency search team, if a student with a disability runs away unattended. State Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat from Orange County, filed House...
MD: Maryland is rethinking how it pays for special education
The Baltimore Banner Maryland’s education department awarded a major contract to the American Institutes for Research, asking the Virginia-based nonprofit to recommend a model that would adequately fund special education. They’ll answer a multipronged question: What...
NY: ‘That is unacceptable’: Lawmaker pushes for new safeguards after shocking school incidents
CBS 6 News The proposed bill creates enforceable statewide standards and strengthens protections against the use of physical restraint as a behavioral intervention, such as what happened at Lincoln Elementary School in Schenectady. In northern New York, parents of an...