On Friday, June 9, 2023, the US Departments of Education (USDE) and Justice (DOJ) released a joint Dear Colleague Letter titled Resource on Confronting Racial Discrimination in Student Discipline. The DCL directed the country’s schools to make sure that their discipline policies and practices do not discriminate against students “based…
On June 8, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) released a Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) for the fiscal year (FY) 2023 Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) grant program that supports academic acceleration and provides academic and whole child supports to build and strengthen connections between schools, parents, families, and their…
On June 8, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) announced the availability of more than $368 million in new grant opportunities through the Education Innovation and Research (EIR) program and the Teacher and School Leader (TSL) Incentive program that advance investments in teacher recruitment and retention. These investments particularly prioritize…
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…
On May 18, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), made a joint announcement regarding a proposed rule and a much-anticipated guidance update for school-based Medicaid billing. The announcement said that the Biden Administration is "taking action to make it easier…
On May 19, 2023, the National Assessment Governing Board unanimously passed a resolution asking Congress to postpone the 2026 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) testing back a year, until 2027. Moving the NAEP to 2027 would return the biennial test to its previous schedule after a one-year pandemic-related waiver…
Improving how we address transition services for youth with disabilities and their families is a critical need that will only be improved through prioritized and collaborative efforts. The 3E initiative will provide an opportunity for the field to join OSERS in the challenge to raise expectations, engage families earlier, and…
A number of differences exist between students with significant cognitive disabilities who have cortical visual impairment (CVI) and those who have other types of visual impairment. Learn more in NCDB/ATLAS Brief #2, co-produced by the National Center on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB) and Accessible Teaching, Learning, and Assessment Systems (ATLAS). Information in…
The US Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has released three Part D personnel preparation grants. They are: -Applications for New Awards; Personnel Development To Improve Services and Results for Children With Disabilities-Personnel Preparation of Special Education, Early Intervention, and Related Services Personnel at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally…
Current opioid misuse remained unchanged among high schoolers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, high school students’ current substance use — defined as use in the past 30 days — decreased during the pandemic between 2019 and 2021 for alcohol, marijuana and binge drinking, according to Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance…
