On November 13, 2023, Democratic members of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability hosted a roundtable with educators and advocates to seek answers to the national epidemic of shootings. The roundtable took place as this year’s number of school shootings across the nation set a record high. Four key takeaways from…
On November 9, 2023, Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, and Tim Kaine, D-Virginia introduced a bipartisan bill in the U.S. Senate that proposes a study led by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) on the effects that cell phone use in K-12 classrooms has on students’ mental health and academic performance. The…
On September 21, 2023 a bipartisan bill was introduced in the U.S. House that would encourage schools and their community partners to teach students about the dangers of synthetic opioids, including fentanyl. The Fentanyl Awareness for Children and Teens in Schools (FACTS) Act would also create a federal task force…
Although IDEA requires schools to inform parents of their right to invite others at special ed. meetings on their behalf, if enacted H.R. 4259 would help to make sure they know of this right, since schools would be required to notify parents of students with disabilities that they can invite…
50 years after its being enacted, significant updates are being made to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act to advance equity and bolster protections for people with disabilities. In fact, on September 7, 2023 the Biden-Harris Administration took further action on its commitment to promote access to health care and…
Last fall, NAPSA joined 41 other national organizations in signing on to a letter supporting the EDUCATORS for America Act (S 3360/HR 6205), which would invest in and revitalize federal educator preparation programs. It was sent to all members of the US Congress. The letter states that there were an…
Title I funding for schools educating students from low-income families would face a severe 80% cut under a proposal for fiscal year 2024 by the Republican-led House Appropriations Committee. On July 13, 2023, Republicans on the committee said in a statement that the decrease is justified because of unspent federal…
During the week of July 10th, special education professionals visited congressional offices in Washington, D.C. to advocate for more funding to support services for students with disabilities, address special educator shortages, and build positive school climates. The visits to Capitol Hill were part of the annual Special Education Legislative Summit…
During the week of July 10, 2023 Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Rep. Jared Huffman plan to re-introduce the IDEA Full Funding Act. As a member of NASISP, NAPSA is endorsing the Act via a joint letter that will be sent to both chambers of Congress. The only changes from…
On May 18, 2023, Reps. Susan Wild (D-PA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Sean Casten (D-IL) teamed up to introduce the Safe Interactions Act – a bipartisan bill to improve interactions between law enforcement officers and people with disabilities and mental health needs. This legislation will provide enhanced trainings to our…
