On January 16, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) declined to consider a case on involving an Indiana school district’s policies banning transgender students from using bathrooms that align with their gender identities. It was hoped that SCOTUS would settle the ongoing controversy over the use of student restrooms by…
HB 2618 required the Oregon Department of Education to conduct a study to identify the best methodology for determining the appropriate number of students on a workload for Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, and Speech Language Pathologists. It also directed the department to submit findings of the study to the interim committees…
According to an article from K12 Dive, national trends in special education dispute resolution for the 2021-22 school year show a return to pre-pandemic activity as per data reported by the Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education (CADRE), which is a federal technical assistance center that supports state…
The federal process for approving state waiver requests to exceed a 1% cap on the number of students with significant cognitive disabilities who take alternate assessments is "generally appropriate" according to an Office of Inspector General (OIG) report. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), however, has room…
As the winter break has ended and students and staff have returned to school, a number of schools went on heightened alert as respiratory illnesses increased in their communities. According to K-12 Dive, while some communities are currently experiencing a rise in respiratory illnesses, the trend doesn’t seem to compare…
States and school districts are taking steps to ensure that “informal removals,” in which school days are shortened to address behavior issues for students with disabilities, do not violate civil and educational rights. In 2022, the U.S. Education Department (USDE) released guidance regarding "shortened days" that avers they are subject…
At a December 7, 2023 gathering hosted by The Aspen Economic Strategy Group, a diverse bipartisan group of distinguished leaders and thinkers promoting evidence-based solutions to significant U.S. economic challenges, panelists reported that high-dosage tutoring has the potential to close learning gaps created by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also…
It has been four decades since there has been a major update to the regulations for Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Last year, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it looking at the rules and a proposed rule revision was originally scheduled to be published in…
The U.S. Department of Education (USDE) has set a new timeline for the release of both of its final Title IX rules revisions, The release is now expected to occur by March 2024, which 10 months later than its original goal of a May 2023 release. The USDE's two related,…
In response to a GAO report released on December 6, 2023, the US Department of Education (USDE) “will be taking expeditious steps” to update its family engagement guidance. The report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) says current federal family engagement guidance is outdated and confusing. The GAO, known…
