The U.S. Supreme Court (Court) has agreed to hear a case that questions whether students filing disability discrimination claims must prove that public school officials acted with discriminatory intent through “bad faith or gross misjudgment.” In A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools, a Minnesota student, Ava, and her parents are challenging…
A January 27, 2025 memo issued by the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) serves as a Q&A document to shed light on the impacts regarding the pause in federal funding. While this is a developing situation, the clicking on this attachment will help provide clarification that Medicaid is…
According to a newly released analysis by the Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education (CADRE), the number of special education due process complaints filed nationally rose by 16.4% from SY 2021-22 to the 2022-23 school year. However, the 65.6% of the special education legal actions in 2022-23 came…
The Autism CARES Act is a federal law that for the next five years will provide nearly $2 billion for research, training and services, including for early detection and interventions. -The newly signed federal law calls on federal agencies to update a report on the challenges faced by youth with…
On December 27, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) withdrew a proposed federal rule that supporters said would have made it easier for schools to be reimbursed for school-based Medicaid services. It was seen as a way to reduce schools’ paperwork burdens and increase reimbursements for the rendering of…
At a December 13, 2024 U.S. Commission on Civil Rights’ listening session, those testifying lamented the adverse effects brought on by the highly qualified special education teacher shortage crisis. In his testimony, Aaron Parsons, public policy chair for the National Association of Private Special Education Centers, said that if the situation persists,…
The U.S. Department of Education’s (USDE) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has released a new resource outlining 21 examples of how artificial intelligence (AI) could contribute to discrimination in schools and colleges based on race, color or natural origin, sex or disability. The resource clarifies for school leaders how existing…
A national movement accelerating social inclusion among young people with and without intellectual disabilities (ID) has reached a historic milestone. Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools® (UCS) programming now partners with 10,000 schools, from Pre-K through university, in 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Together,…
Since President-elect Trump and some lawmakers in the incoming Republican-controlled Congress have vowed to limit federal involvement in K-12, including the elimination of the U.S. Department of Education, which oversees funding and programming for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), many are expressing their concerns as to what may…
New guidance from the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) promotes the use of individualized behavioral assessments and support plans for students with and without disabilities to help schools address problem behaviors and reduce suspensions and expulsions. The 25-page, nonregulatory guidance issued last month calls for using ”functional behavioral assessments″ (FBAs)…
