Special Education
Laws & News
Across the States
ME: Maine public schools are starting to provide special education to preschoolers. Demand is high.
Portland Press Herald
As more districts prepare to take over services for 3- to 5-year-olds with disabilities, a pilot program shows positive results and steep challenges ahead. Under federal law, states are required to ensure all children can successfully participate in the public education system. For young children with disabilities, that means providing them with the resources. St. George Municipal School District superintendent Mike Felton thought long and hard about opting into a Maine Department of Education program to have public school districts provide special education services to qualifying 3- to 5-year-old children. Now, as the first year of the program comes to an end, he says that although there were bumps in the road, he’s glad he opted in.
TN: Tennessee students with disabilities to be removed from class with new rule
Tennessee schools can now more quickly remove some students with disabilities from their classrooms. The state Board of Education on Aug. 15 approved an amended state rule allowing schools to temporarily remove students to an environment such as a special education classroom or even into an alternative school before a formal behavioral assessment is completed or even started. A 2022 state rule required Tennessee schools to perform an FBA, a comprehensive assessment required by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, when a student is engaging in dangerous or “highly disruptive” behavior. But Tennessee education officials told the board earlier this year that educators interpreted the 2022 rule to mean a student could not be removed until the assessment was completed, which could mean a lengthy waiting period for districts with limited resources. Board Vice-Chair Darrell Cobbins said he fielded multiple emails and calls from concerned parents and advocates on the issue. He had questions about how the policy would be used, but said he was satisfied that it provides protections from “one individual” making a swift decision to remove a student.
VA: 5 Northern Virginia districts put on high-risk status for Title IX violations
K-12 Dive
Five large school districts in Northern Virginia were put on high-risk status and told their federal funding would only be distributed by reimbursement from the U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday. The announcement comes after the Education Department last month found the five districts had violated Title IX through their policies allowing transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity.
Collectively, the five Virginia districts impacted have about $50 million in federal formula funding, discretionary grants, and impact aid grants that will need to be processed through reimbursements, according to a Tuesday statement from the Education Department.
Denise Marshall, CEO of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, called the action a “direct assault on schools” in a Tuesday statement. The administration’s efforts to withhold “critical” funding are unlawful and amount to “political warfare” and “continue to do significant harm” to schools,” Marshall said. She added the announcement “is part of the Administration’s pattern to exhibit explicit hostility towards LGBTQ+ students and students of color whose identity often intersects with and includes disability.”
AZ: Federal cutbacks shift education-related civil rights issues to state
Arizona Capitol Times
With empty desks and a heavy caseload at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, advocates for families with disabilities anticipate a pivot away from the federal route for discrimination complaint resolution. Instead, attorneys and a policy expert expect new attention to the state level complaint system and the statutory plan constructed to protect students with disabilities in the next legislative session. “It is a very tough time to be a student with a disability in general,” Amanda Glass, education team managing attorney at Disability Rights Arizona, said. “Technically, you do still have protections. The laws still exist. But as we’ve discussed, your enforcement options are becoming more and more limited.”
MN: Minneapolis Public Schools violating disability law
Minnesota Reformer
The Minnesota Department of Education notified Minneapolis Public Schools that it’s in violation of state and federal law for overidentifying Black students in the category of “developmental cognitive disability” for the past three years. The notification is part of an annual review process conducted by the state, as required by federal law, to determine what’s known as “disproportionality” in special education. The review compares identification, placement, and discipline for students with disabilities across racial groups.
Under federal law, the district is now required to set aside 15% of its federal special education funds to address the disparities through a process called coordinated early intervention services, or CEIS.
MO: Missouri Board of Education votes to close 12 schools for disabled students. One is in Lee’s Summit
KCUR – Kansas City news and NPR
Missouri is the only state that still operates separate day schools for special education. But the Missouri Schools for the Severely Disabled are struggling with declining enrollment, with 36% fewer students over the past 16 years. Twelve state schools serving students with disabilities will close next year as part of a plan approved Tuesday afternoon by the Missouri State Board of Education. There was little discussion Tuesday about the plan to consolidate the Missouri Schools for the Severely Disabled, or MSSD. Board members delved into the plan more thoroughly during a May meeting and a retreat last month. “The State Board of Education believes this is the first step in providing more opportunities and strengthening education for all students enrolled in Missouri Schools for the Severely Disabled,” Board President Mary Schrag said in a news release. “This decision is not taken lightly but will result in a more efficient program that enriches quality resources provided to students and their families.”
MT: State settles, agrees disabled students can stay in schools until 22
Admitting Montana is out of step with other states and facing the threat of a class-action lawsuit, Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Susie Hedalen and the State of Montana have come to an agreement in federal court to allow those with disabilities to stay enrolled in public schools until they reach their 22nd birthday. The suit was brought by the parents of two disabled students and challenged by Disability Rights Montana. “This is a huge win for Montana students,” said David Carlson, executive director of Disability Rights Montana. “Students with disabilities were being exited from school before earning a high school diploma and before they were ready to transition to post-secondary employment, education, and independent living. Now students who need it will have the additional time that federal law allows to prepare for success as adults.” Montana’s special education was offered through the age of 19, but state leaders had insisted for years that a certificate of completion of an individual education plan was equal to a high school diploma, and therefore, public schools were not obligated to keep disabled students until the age of 22, as most other states mandate.
NH: Judge: NH is underfunding special education
New Hampshire Public Radio
New Hampshire is spending too little on special education, a judge ruled Monday. But Superior Court Judge David Ruoff stopped short of ordering the Legislature to spend more. This is the second court in six weeks to conclude the state is failing to adequately fund public education. In July, the state Supreme Court said the state is underspending on general education. Ruoff agreed Monday and said it’s also spending too little on special education. But both courts left it up to the Legislature to decide how to fund schools and how much to spend on them.
OH: Trump Medicaid cuts could cost kids coverage that aids learning
Ohio Capital Journal
Ryin’s therapies, tablet, and the TouchChat program are all funded by Medicaid — and examples of how the government program, a major source of health care for low-income families, also supports children’s ability to learn and do well in school. Medicaid also covers such school-related items as eyeglasses, hearing aids, and microphones for teachers to use to communicate with children with hearing difficulties. Other devices and care, such as inhalers for asthma and dental coverage provided by Medicaid help make sure kids don’t miss school and add to the chronic absenteeism problems hurting kids academically. But Medicaid faces massive cuts starting in 2027 as part of President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.” Cuts to Medicaid and to the accompanying Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) will likely total about a trillion dollars over the next 10 years, according to estimates.
OH: Local parents, advocates say future of special education uncertain
The Columbus Dispatch
Parents, educators, and concerned citizens filled a room at the Grove City library for a town hall to share concerns about disability education amid uncertainty around state and federal funding for students with disabilities. The Aug. 12 event in a community room at the Southwest Public Libraries Grove City branch was hosted by Parents United for Public Schools, and included groups such as Policy Matters Ohio, Red, Wine and Blue, Ohio Education Association, and Vouchers Hurt Ohio. Nick Tuell, organizer for Parents United for Public Schools, said that the organization was aiming to give parents a seat at the table amid what he said were threats to funding for students, especially those with disabilities. “Quite frankly, we just don’t know what it looks like when it comes to children with disabilities in our public education system,” Tuell said. “But we do know that when parents come together and have a collective voice, we can start to make sure we’re fighting for our kids.” Similar town halls were organized across the state in Dayton, Cincinnati, and Berea, Tuell said, with upcoming ones in New Philadelphia and potentially Toledo.