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Miguel Perez
Miguel Luna Perez, who is deaf, attended schools in Michigan's Sturgis Public School District from ages 9 through 20.
Photo courtesy of Luna Perez family
Law & Courts Supreme Court Rules Deaf Student Can Sue School District Over Alleged Failures
The justices rule that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act does not bar the student's suit for money damages.
Mark Walsh, March 21, 2023
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5 min read
President Joe Biden speaks about his 2024 budget proposal at the Finishing Trades Institute, Thursday, March 9, 2023, in Philadelphia.
President Joe Biden speaks about his 2024 budget proposal at the Finishing Trades Institute, Thursday, March 9, 2023, in Philadelphia.
Evan Vucci/AP
Federal How Schools Fare in Biden's Proposed Budget
President Joe Biden released his fiscal 2024 budget, which calls for more money for preschool, Title I, and special education.
Libby Stanford, March 9, 2023
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7 min read
Miguel Perez stands outside the Supreme Court after arguments in the case of Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools on Jan. 18, 2023 in Washington, D.C.
Miguel Perez, right, along with lawyer Roman Martinez, stands outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Wednesday after arguments in his case against his former school district in Sturgis, Mich.
Mark Walsh/Education Week
Special Education Supreme Court Seems in Favor of Deaf Student's Right to Sue School District Under the ADA
Miguel Luna Perez was there as the justices weighed issues in his case over his district allegedly failing to provide trained interpreters.
Mark Walsh, January 18, 2023
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7 min read
Miguel Perez
Miguel Luna Perez in a 2016 yearbook photo as a senior at Sturgis High School in Michigan. Luna Perez, who is deaf, went on to the Michigan School for the Deaf in a settlement with his district but is seeking to sue under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 for the district's alleged failures to provide him adequate assistance to communicate.
Photo courtesy of Luna Perez family
Special Education A Deaf Student Says His School District Failed Him. The Supreme Court Will Decide
Miguel Luna Perez received inadequate assistance for 12 years, his suit says. The high court will decide if he can pursue money damages.
Mark Walsh, January 17, 2023
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10 min read
Special education teacher assisting a diverse group of elementary students in art class.
E+/Getty
Special Education States Are Desperate for Special Ed. Teachers. But They Can't Cut Corners to Get Them
The Education Department warns states not to lower standards, even as districts frantically search for skilled special educators.
Madeline Will, October 25, 2022
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8 min read
Image of a vivid blue mask with school supplies.
Elena Kalfa/iStock/Getty
Special Education Special Education During the Pandemic, in Charts
Key data points show the challenges students with disabilities have faced during remote learning and pandemic recovery.
Evie Blad, October 17, 2022
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4 min read
People gather as the Supreme Court begins its new term and to hear the first arguments, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. Monday's session is also the first time new Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the court's first Black female justice, will participate. And it's the first time the public will be able to attend since the court closed in March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
People gather for the first day of the U.S. Supreme Court's new term Oct. 3, the first time the public was able to attend since the court closed in March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Special Education The Supreme Court Will Decide a Significant Special Education Case
The justices will decide whether families must exhaust special education proceedings when they seek money damages under other federal laws.
Mark Walsh, October 3, 2022
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4 min read
Flags decorate a space outside the office of the Education Secretary at the Education Department in Washington on Aug. 9, 2017.
Flags decorate a space outside the office of the Education Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education. The Government Accountability Office has released recommended priorities for the Education Department that target special education rights.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Federal Restraint and Seclusion, and Disability Rights: Ed. Department Has Work to Do, Audit Finds
The Government Accountability Office releases a checklist of how the U.S. Department of Education is performing on a list of priorities.
Libby Stanford, July 13, 2022
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4 min read
Conceptual Illustration of Government taking a big chunk of the money
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Education Funding 7 Ways the Federal Government Shortchanges K-12 Schools
Districts haven't gotten the help they need and expect on infrastructure, high-need students, special education, school meals, and more.
Mark Lieberman, July 12, 2022
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9 min read
A paraprofessional guides a student back to his gym class while participating in remote learning at his home in Wharton, N.J.
Paraprofessional Jessica Wein guides Josh Nazzaro back to his gym class while participating in remote learning at his home in Wharton, N.J., in 2020. New research adds to long-standing critiques of federal funding for special education.
Seth Wenig/AP
Special Education What the Research Says Federal Special Ed. Funding Is Woefully Inequitable, New Studies Show
Outdated funding formulas continue to widen gaps that shortchange students with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, researchers say.
Mark Lieberman, June 1, 2022
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5 min read
Conceptual image of supporting students.
Illustration by Laura Baker/Education Week (Source images: DigitalVision Vectors and iStock/Getty)
Special Education L.A. Agrees to Do More After Failing on Special Education. Could Other Districts Be Next?
The district failed to meet the needs of students with disabilities during the pandemic, the U.S. Department of Education found.
Evie Blad, April 29, 2022
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6 min read
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at the opening of a monoclonal antibody site in Pembroke Pines, Fla., on Aug. 18, 2021. The on-again, off-again ban imposed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to prevent mandating masks for Florida school students is back in force. The 1st District Court of Appeal ruled Friday, Sept. 10, that a Tallahassee judge should not have lifted an automatic stay two days ago that halted enforcement of the mask mandate ban.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at the opening of a monoclonal antibody site in Pembroke Pines, Fla., on Aug. 18, 2021. The on-again, off-again ban imposed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to prevent mandating masks for Florida school students is back in force. The 1st District Court of Appeal ruled Friday, Sept. 10, that a Tallahassee judge should not have lifted an automatic stay two days ago that halted enforcement of the mask mandate ban.
Marta Lavandier/AP
Law & Courts Federal Judge Denies Parents' Suit to Block Florida's Ban on School Mask Mandates
The parents argued that their children, due to health conditions, were at particular risk if any of their peers attend school without masks.
David Goodhue, Miami Herald, September 16, 2021
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3 min read
School children in classroom with teacher, wearing face masks and raised hands
DigitalVision/Vectors/Getty
Special Education Schools Must Identify Students With Disabilities Despite Pandemic Hurdles, Ed. Dept. Says
Guidance stresses schools' responsibilities to those with disabilities, while noting that federal COVID aid can be used to address backlogs.
Evie Blad, August 24, 2021
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2 min read
An Issaquah School District school bus waits at an intersection near where a rally to encourage wider opening of in-person learning was being held on Feb. 24, 2021, in Issaquah, Wash.. Students in kindergarten and lower-elementary grades recently returned to school in the district under a hybrid in-person learning program, but older elementary, middle-, and high school students are still being taught remotely.
A school bus waits at an intersection near the site of a rally in February to encourage wider opening of in-person learning in the Issaquah School District in Issaquah, Wash. Transportation costs for students with special needs this year dipped because of remote learning.
Ted S. Warren/AP
Budget & Finance Spending on Special Ed. in Some Districts Plunged This Year. Budget Cuts Could Be Next
Schools faced unprecedented challenges delivering instruction and support to students with disabilities this year—and the costs of providing those services evolved as well.
Mark Lieberman, May 4, 2021
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7 min read
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