According to a K-12 Dive report, about 13% of students with disabilities participating in special education services in 2022-23 had autism. That’s an increase from 5% in 2008-09. The percentage of students identified with autism receiving K-12 special education services has been on a steady rise over the last decade…
The U.S. Departments of Education (USDE) and Health and Human Services (HHS) have jointly shared updated links to recent guidance. The links below will cover the topics of discipline provisions for students with disabilities as set forth in the Individuals with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), inclusion of…
On March 23, 2024, President Joe Biden signed the FY 2024 budget for the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) and other agencies. This signing followed the March 22nd approval by the House and Senate. Under the approved budget, the USDE receives $79.1 billion for FY 2024, which is $500 million…
At a March 6th House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, hearing legislators debated the effectiveness and direction of the charter school movement. Points debated included the oversight of charter schools and their effectiveness as well as the importance of supporting traditional (brick-and-mortar) public schools. Also discussed was…
On February 20, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released four new resources today with information for students, parents and families, and schools addressing civil rights of students with disabilities, as well as a data snapshot about education access for students with disabilities drawn from…
Schools are responsible for ensuring students, families, and educators know how assistive technology (AT) works. In fact, students’ IEP teams must consider how it will be integrated with other therapies and interventions. If teams determine that a student needs assistive technology services, those supports must be stated in their IEP…
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…
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…
