Special Education
Laws & News
Across the States
For a Texas mother of triplets with disabilities, school-choice debate feels hollow
Texarkana Gazette
It was still dark when Liz Piñón loaded her triplets into the family’s red van and set off for Austin. The children scrolled their phones as they made the four-hour drive from Crowley to the Capitol. Piñón glanced at her set of 12-year-olds: There was Santiago, her philosopher. Frida, her artist. And Felicita, her advocate. “All three of them are very different,” Piñón said. The Piñóns trekked down Interstate 35 to show lawmakers the faces of kids who could be left behind by a billion-dollar voucher-style program. Families such as the Piñóns, who are trying to educate children with disabilities, occupy a central yet complex position in this fight. Texas has a history of failing to adequately fund or provide special education in public schools — yet private schools are not required to admit all children with disabilities. The private campuses that exist solely to serve children with special needs have limited space. How the state would prioritize children with special needs remains one of the sticking points in the broader debate.
CT: Lamont hints at line-item veto of special education funding
CT Mirror
Gov. Ned Lamont is expected to use a line-item veto to kill a $40 million supplemental appropriation for special education that the Senate unanimously passed Tuesday over the governor’s objections. In a statement issued moments after the Senate gave final passage to a bill that cleared the House on a 140-5 vote Monday night, Lamont said he cannot support the added funding in the current fiscal year as it conflicts with the spending cap. “Even while well-intentioned, the way this funding was hastily approved by the legislature is reminiscent of how budgeting was dangerously done in the past,” Lamont said. “These concerns, combined with expenses that are already pushing beyond the spending cap, are why I cannot support adding this significant expenditure this late in the fiscal year without a plan to cover budget overruns.”
ME: Intellectually disabled students call on Legislature to create more inclusive college opportunities
Press Herald
Maine high schoolers with intellectual and developmental disabilities are urging lawmakers to support the creation of more inclusive higher education opportunities. More than a dozen students, advocates, and higher education leaders spoke Monday at a public hearing in front of the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee to support LD 46, a bill sponsored by Rep. Kelly Murphy, D-Scarborough. The bill would create Inclusive Post Secondary Education, or IPSE, programs at five Maine colleges through $100,000 grants. These programs, housed at traditional colleges or universities, are designed for students with intellectual or developmental disabilities or autism, which have their own admissions process and special support systems. The bill would also provide scholarships for students.
MT: Advocates sue to extend public education for students with disabilities
KXLA 9
Advocates have filed a class action lawsuit in federal court, arguing that the state of Montana should allow students with disabilities to continue receiving public education past the age of 18. Disability Rights Montana sued Gov. Greg Gianforte and Superintendent of Public Instruction Susie Hedalen on behalf of two students with developmental disabilities – and hundreds of other students who are or were receiving special ed services set to end when they turn 19. “This case is about fundamental fairness and giving students with disabilities the time they need to prepare for further education, employment, and independent living,” said Tal Goldin, director of advocacy at Disability Rights Montana and COPAA member, in a statement. “Montana provides publicly funded education to non-disabled adults beyond age 18 yet denies the same access to students with disabilities. This is exactly the kind of discrimination that, if eliminated, can strengthen our communities.” The lawsuit says federal law guarantees students with disabilities access to public education until they’re 22 or they complete a high school diploma.
NM: PED: Special Education Act Passes Senate, Moves On To House
Los Alamos Reporter
The New Mexico Senate passed legislation yesterday that would establish a dedicated Office of Special Education and create a comprehensive state-specific framework to address the unique challenges faced by students with disabilities throughout New Mexico. Senate Bill 38, known as the Special Education Act, passed the New Mexico Senate with a vote of 31-7. The bill, if passed in the House of Representatives and signed into law, would create the Office of Special Education (OSE) as a division within the Public Education Department (PED). The bill would also create a comprehensive state-specific framework that addresses the unique challenges faced by students with disabilities in New Mexico, going beyond the basic federal requirements for special education.
NC: Carolina Curious: How many private schools receiving Opportunity Scholarships serve students with disabilities?
WFDD
Last year, the North Carolina General Assembly voted to significantly increase funding for private school vouchers, also known as Opportunity Scholarships. The state has spent nearly $383 million on these vouchers in this academic year alone. Listener Walter Strong of High Point wondered what the requirements are for schools to receive this funding, and how many of them provide services for students with disabilities? I went down the list of every private school in Guilford County that received Opportunity Scholarships this academic year. There are 31 of them, and in total, they received roughly $22 million as of February. Not every school picked up, but I got a range of answers for the ones that did. About five of them have specialized programs in place to support students with disabilities. But the majority of schools that responded basically said, it depends.
OK: Republican Cites Bible To Defend Hitting Disabled Students
Newsweek
A Republican lawmaker in Oklahoma cited a Bible verse as he argued against a bill seeking to ban corporal punishment being used on disabled students in schools. State Senator Shane Jett quoted several verses from the Book of Proverbs on Tuesday as he argued that the bill is in “violation of Scripture.” The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 1977 decision that corporal punishment did not fall under the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment, leaving it to states to set their own rules. Some 27 states and the District of Columbia have banned corporal punishment in schools, but Oklahoma is among those that still allow it, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
OR: Spending on special education in Oregon needs a revamped formula, researchers find
centraloregondaily.com
Lawmakers got a three-hour crash course this week on fixes that are needed to Oregon’s education funding formula to improve student learning and direct money toward the highest needs kids. Among the most consequential findings was that Oregon’s formula for how much money leaders send to schools to support students with disabilities leaves them under-resourced. Oregon is one of seven states that cap spending on special education, and it has the lowest cap of all, according to the Virginia-based American Institutes for Research researchers, who discussed their analysis on Oregon’s education funding during a joint meeting of the House and Senate Education committees last week. Lawmakers are considering a proposal this session, House Bill 2953, sponsored by Rep. Courtney Neron, D-Wilsonville, that would remove the funding cap.
TX: Advocates concerned vouchers may leave out disabled students
Spectrum News 1
Both the Texas Senate and House have school voucher or educational savings account proposals that allocate extra funding for students with disabilities to use at private schools. Some families believe the money won’t guarantee an equal education for students with disabilities, but private school advocates say the educational opportunities may even be better. Leander Independent School District mom Desaray Granzow was among the crowd of teachers and parents who came to the Texas Capitol to tell lawmakers why they are against a school voucher system. “You cannot have financial accountability of public dollars in a private school, because there is no accountability in a private school,” said Granzow. “You have to have the parents and families involved to make those positive changes,” she said. Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, a sponsor of one voucher proposal, says lawmakers had students with disabilities in mind when crafting his bill that puts $1,500 into an educational savings account on top of the $10,000 to use at a private school.
TX: Texas schools are required to improve accommodations for dyslexic students by this summer
Texas Standard
For years, parents and education advocates have complained about a lack of proper resources in Texas schools for students with dyslexia. But under a bill passed in 2023, that’s about to change. School districts have until this summer to move students receiving special instruction for dyslexia onto special education plans. The changes have been applauded as long needed, but they also come at a time of strain for public school districts.