On March 18, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDE) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced the District of Columbia Public Schools violated the civil rights of students with disabilities by denying timely evaluations, individualized placements and reliable transportation, according to results of a year-long investigation. OCR said the district…
As reported by K-12 Dive, amid funding challenges some state leaders draw attention to budgets and programs that support students with disabilities. In fact, special education initiatives were a priority for several governors in their annual state of state addresses — including in Idaho, Kansas, New Mexico and Pennsylvania —…
A General Services Administration (GSA) proposal, which follows a similar policy from the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) that was blocked in courts, would require federal funding recipients to certify that they are not knowingly hiring or recruiting undocumented staff. The proposed policy is in support of the Trump administration’s crackdown on…
A according to federal data analyzed by The Advocacy Institute, a nonprofit that works to improve the lives of people with disabilities, the number of students with disabilities ages 3-21 who qualify for special education services in the U.S. rose 3.8% — or by 301,991 students — in 2024 when…
Although the recently passed fiscal year 2026 (FY26) budget for the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) did not ban the outsourcing of certain education programs to other federal agencies, it strongly condemned and discouraged the transfer of key programs out of the USDE. The bicameral and bipartisan statement said that…
The U.S. Department of Education (USDE) will continue to target diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in schools under Title VI despite a court block on its controversial February 14, 2025 anti-DEI Dear Colleague letter. That letter announced the USDE’s policy interpreting Title VI, which protects students from discrimination based…
New federal accessibility rules for web content and mobile apps will start being enforced as early as this April, but recent survey results from the National School Public Relations Association and Sogolytics show many school districts will not be ready to comply. In fact, only 14% of respondents say their…
On February 2, 2026 the FY26 education funding bill was finally signed into law. As a result, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) is now funded for fiscal year 2026. The compromise measure won final approval from the U.S. House by a 217-214 vote. The budget funds the USDE at…
Assistive technology (AT) in schools can run the gamut of low-tech tools like pencil grips and swivel chairs to high-tech ones like large mobile touch screens and voice recognition software. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires a student’s individualized education program (IEP) team to consider AT use, at…
Identical U.S. House and Senate legislation is drawing bipartisan support for attempts to modernize identifications for children with reading challenges, although some disability rights advocacy groups and education organizations caution the move could put struggling readers further behind. Specifically, the 21st Century Dyslexia Act proposes that IDEA definition of a…
