As states and school districts prepare to make final decisions on spending the last and largest allocation of COVID-19 relief money, on September 18, 2022 the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) sent a letter to state education agencies (SEAs) with details on American Rescue Plan (ARP) spending extension requests. According…
As has been a much-anticipated development across the nation, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) continues to delay its release of revised Section 504 regulations. It is hoped that such revisions will clarify how student accommodations under Section 504 align or depart from the rights of students with disabilities under…
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…
According to analyses by the White House Council of Economic Advisers in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), broad increases in chronic absenteeism between the 2018-19 and 2021-22 school years may have significantly contributed to declines in post-pandemic test scores, particularly the National…
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…
Proposed US Department of Education (USDE) Section 504 rule updates aimed at addressing barriers for students with disabilities, fix outdated language, and align with civil rights laws will almost surely not make a revised October deadline. To date, The USDE has yet to send its regulatory plans to the Office of Management and Budget, which…
As school districts nationwide work to help children and families retain benefits amid the transition to automatic renewal systems due to the end of the pandemic, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is threatening state Medicaid agencies with sanctions for improperly removing children from the safety-net coverage during…
As next year's deadline for American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds approaches, school districts must prepare for the impact. To that end, with roughly a year left before the September 2024 obligation deadline, The School Superintendents Association (AASA) launched its fourth American Rescue Plan (ARP) survey of school district leaders to…
It is estimated that 536,400 children have lost access to Medicaid and CHIP insurance since automatic renewals ended in April. As a result, a toolkit from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) titled Medicaid and CHIP Renewals: Reaching Children and Families in School-Based and Early Education and Care…
The US Department of Education (USDE) shares information about resources that may be useful in supporting the needs of students with disabilities in particular, including tools for schools to assist students in addressing any disability-based behaviors that could otherwise interfere with their or other students' learning, or that could lead to…
