Education Week

A paperwork change proposed by the U.S. Department of Education would end an important accountability measure that helps ensure states adequately identify and address racial inequities in special education, disability rights advocates say. The agency said in an Aug. 21 proposal that ending the requirement that states report changes to their methods for calculating “significant disproportionality” on their annual federal applications under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act would ease paperwork burdens for state education departments. But comments on the proposal, which the agency accepted until Oct. 21, overwhelmingly oppose the plan. Those advocates contend the change would save states little time and come at the cost of important transparency.

“This is part of the Trump administration’s pattern” of eliminating key data collections about students and schools, said Ivy Morgan, the director of P-12 research and data analytics at EdTrust, an organization that advocates for educational equity.