Special Education
Laws & News
Across the States
CA: How federal cuts are already affecting disabled students in California
EdSource
Jake, a 17-year-old junior, is beginning to think about life after he graduates from Mt. Carmel High School in San Diego County. This is a daunting task for any teen, but his mother, Angela, says it’s been especially thorny for Jake, who is on the autism spectrum, has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and struggles with anxiety. The prospect of getting a job one day soon has made him “suicidal,” said Angela, who asked not to share her family’s last name to protect her son’s privacy about his diagnoses. She said her son has told her, “I’m going to be homeless; I won’t get a job.” So Angela was thrilled when Jake was accepted into a new program at his school, Charting My Path for Future Success, which helps students with disabilities navigate into adulthood. In late January, Jake began to meet with a caseworker who seemed to understand his needs. At the time, Angela thought, “My prayers have been answered,” she said. That changed on Feb. 12, when Jake’s school district, Poway Unified, received a notice that the Trump administration had cut funding for the grant behind Charting My Path for Future Success.
The education bills that passed and failed in the 2025 Colorado legislative session
Chalkbeat
Before Colorado state lawmakers finished their yearly business this week, they took steps to ensure public schools would be better funded in the future. Colorado public schools will be required to screen students in kindergarten through third grade for dyslexia starting in the 2027-28 school year, per Senate Bill 200. The start date is a year later than advocates for children with dyslexia wanted, but represents a big win after a years-long battle for statewide screening. House Bill 1248 moves the existing laws about restraint and seclusion in public schools from the section of Colorado law that deals with youth detention facilities to the section that deals with education. It also shores up data reporting about the use of such practices in public schools and closes a loophole that has created a dearth of information about seclusion. A bill to ban seclusion was rejected by lawmakers for the second year in a row, however.
LA: New bill overhauls how La. schools treat special ed students
nola.com
Louisiana schools would have to install cameras in special-education classrooms and stop putting students who have outbursts in separate “seclusion” rooms under a proposed law that advocates say provides some of the strongest protections for students with disabilities in the country. The legislation comes a year after a state audit found that Louisiana schools seclude and restrain students without any oversight, despite warnings that the practices can potentially harm students and violate their rights. During a tearful testimony, the bill’s author, Rep. Shane Mack, R-Livingston, told the House Education Committee Wednesday that his proposal would “improve the educational experience in Louisiana” for children with disabilities. The committee voted unanimously in favor of the bill, which several disability rights advocates and education leaders also spoke in favor of.
Note: While the original bill proposed would have banned the use of seclusion, a substitute bill presented to the committee restored the use of seclusion. The substitute version was the version voted on by the committee. Roe’s comments to the Committee cited by the author were made in reference to the original version of the bill and not the substitute version. Also, the reporter incorrectly states that Chris Roe, COPAA director of state policy, is an attorney.
MN: Minnesota disabilities advocates push back on plan to restore school seclusion rooms
MPR News
Disability rights activists applauded Minnesota’s move two years ago to ban the use of school seclusion rooms to discipline children in kindergarten through third grade. On Thursday, they returned to the Capitol to fight a legislative effort to lift that ban. Seclusions are forced isolations, and in Minnesota, 100 percent of the children put into school seclusion rooms are students with disabilities, according to the Minnesota Department of Education. About 74 percent of all seclusions in Minnesota in 2023 involved children younger than 10. A measure in the state Senate would give districts the option of using seclusion in kindergarten through third grade with parental permission as a last resort disciplinary method. Disability rights and supporters of maintaining the ban argue that seclusions don’t help anyone. “We have to ask ourselves, do we really support people with disabilities and students with disabilities if we will not stand up for the basic human right to not be locked in a box … at 6,” Rep. Kim Hicks, DFL-Rochester, told reporters.
OK: Oklahoma bans corporal punishment for disabled students
The Journal Record
A new Oklahoma law will prohibit schools from inflicting physical pain as punishment for students with disabilities. Although the practice is already banned in the state’s regulations for schools, attempts by the Oklahoma Legislature to add the rule to state law failed in previous years. State law had barred schools from using corporal punishment on students only with “the most significant cognitive disabilities.” Senate Bill 364 extends the corporal punishment prohibition to students with any type of disability defined in a federal law known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Gov. Kevin Stitt on Thursday permitted SB 364 to take effect without his signature. The bill had passed the state Senate in a 31-16 vote and the House 63-25 after lengthy debates in both chambers. It outlaws the “deliberate infliction of physical pain by hitting, paddling, spanking, slapping or any other physical force” as a method of discipline for students with disabilities.
TX: Advocates worry about ‘unclear process’ in Texas school choice law
KXAN
Education advocates have warned lawmakers that S.B. 2 seems to expedite the evaluation process for students seeking an ESA, removing many deadline extensions districts utilize for other students waiting to learn whether they qualify for special education services. “The ESA legislation that is being considered basically allows private school students to cut the line. They could then become eligible for the larger ESA benefit for students with disabilities,” Disability Rights Texas Senior Policy Specialist Steven Aleman said.
“The legislation imposes a burden on public schools to do work for a private school student they are not ever going to see, they are not ever going to get reimbursed for, over and above the public-school students who are already there needing services, already on waitlists,” Aleman said.
CT: Opinion: How do we fix special education in CT?
CT Post
At a public hearing on April 21, members of the Select Committee on Special Education repeatedly asserted that they want to fix the “broken” special education system. Unfortunately, the special education bills currently speeding their way through Connecticut’s legislature, HB-7277 and the identical SB-1561, would make the system far worse and reduce the ability of families — and even school teams — to meet the needs of children with disabilities. Worse, they would further erode the rights and protections for these children and reduce accountability and transparency in our public schools.
NJ: N.J. special education students at risk amid proposed federal cuts
NJ.com
Thousands of students with disabilities in New Jersey could face significant setbacks as proposed federal cuts to special education funding, staff reductions, and changes in oversight could worsen existing challenges, particularly in low-income districts like Newark, advocates say. As the Trump administration moves forward with changes at the federal Education Department, school districts like Newark that serve a larger population of vulnerable students face even greater risks since they rely on federal and state funding to provide special education services.
OK: House Sends Bill Banning Corporal Punishment of Disabled Students to Gov. Stitt’s Desk
Oklahoma Watch
A yearslong legislative effort to ban Oklahoma teachers and support staff from using physical force to discipline students with severe disabilities has prevailed. Senate Bill 364 by Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, and Rep. Anthony Moore, R-Clinton, cleared the House on a 63-25 vote on Wednesday. It now heads to Gov. Kevin Stitt’s desk for consideration. The State Department of Education passed a rule in 2020 banning corporal punishment of children with significant disabilities. Still, child welfare advocates argue the rule isn’t broad enough and that codification in state law is needed to adequately protect students. In September 2023, KFOR reported that 43 school districts used corporal punishment on students with disabilities during the 2021-2022 school year. “While many schools already prohibit corporal punishment, there are still instances where it is used against children who may struggle to control their behavior or grasp the consequences of their actions,” Rader said in a statement after the bill passed the Senate in late February.
FL: Legislature OKs plan to teach K-12 students about disabilities
Florida Politics
The Senate has signed off on a bill that would teach Florida public school students about disabilities as part of their education. Under the “Evin B. Hartsell Act,” School Boards throughout the state would be authorized to consult with the Evin B. Hartsell Foundation to help develop the curriculum. Tampa Republican Sen. Jay Collins sponsored the Senate bill (SB 540). The Senate bill was swapped out for the House version (HB 447) that was approved in that chamber Friday. The measure will go to the desk of Gov. Ron DeSantis for final approval.