IDEA

Learn more about the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and how it affects schools and students
Image of a hand raising a red flag.
DigitalVision Vectors
Special Education Parents Should Continue to File Disability Rights Complaints, Say Special Ed. Advocates
Continuing to file them puts pressure on the Ed. Dept. to enforce special ed. laws.
Evie Blad, November 21, 2025
•
4 min read
Wheelchair user obstacle metaphor. Conquering adversity. Hurdle on way concept. Overcoming obstacle on road. Vector illustration 3d isometric design. Barrier on way to success.
iStock/Getty Images + Vanessa Solis/Education Week
Special Education Opinion ‘Educational Exile’: How Trump’s Layoffs Threaten Students With Disabilities
Here’s what’s at stake for millions of students if we lose federal enforcement of IDEA.
Susan Haas, October 21, 2025
•
4 min read
Vivien Henshall, a long-term substitute special education teacher, talks with Scarlett Rasmussen, 8, during recess at Parkside Elementary School on May 17, 2023, in Grants Pass, Ore. Scarlett is nonverbal and uses an electronic device and online videos to communicate, but reads at her grade level. She was born with a genetic condition that causes her to have seizures and makes it hard for her to eat and digest food, requiring her to need a resident nurse at school.
A long-term substitute special education teacher at Parkside Elementary School in Grants Pass, Ore., speaks with a student during recess on May 17, 2023. The Trump administration has canceled more than $30 million in special education grants, including some aimed at training special education teachers.
Lindsey Wasson/AP
Special Education Trump Canceled Millions for Special Education Teacher Training. What's Next?
More than $30 million for teacher training and parent resources will no longer flow as scheduled.
Mark Lieberman, September 8, 2025
•
9 min read
Scarlett Rasmussen, 8, tosses a ball with other classmates underneath a play structure during recess at Parkside Elementary School on May 17, 2023, in Grants Pass, Ore. Chelsea Rasmussen has fought for more than a year for her daughter, Scarlett, to attend full days at Parkside.
A student who receives special education services tosses a ball during recess at Parkside Elementary School on May 17, 2023, in Grants Pass, Ore. Several recipients of grants awarded under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act learned Friday that the U.S. Department of Education would continue their grants for another year, provided they certify their projects align with Trump administration priorities.
Lindsey Wasson/AP
Special Education Most—But Not All—Imperiled Federal Grants for Special Education Will Continue
The U.S. Department of Education says it wants projects aligned with Trump administration priorities.
Mark Lieberman, September 5, 2025
•
5 min read
Vivien Henshall, a long-term substitute special education teacher, works with Scarlett Rasmussen separately as other classmates listen to instructions from their teacher at Parkside Elementary School on May 17, 2023, in Grants Pass, Ore. Chelsea has fought for more than a year for her 8-year-old daughter, Scarlett, to attend full days at Parkside and says school employees told her the district lacked the staff to tend to Scarlett’s medical and educational needs, which the district denies. She was born with a genetic condition that causes her to have seizures and makes it hard for her to eat and digest food, requiring her to need a resident nurse at school.
Vivien Henshall, a long-term substitute special education teacher, works with Scarlett Rasmussen separately as other classmates listen to instructions from their teacher at Parkside Elementary School on May 17, 2023, in Grants Pass, Ore. Organizations that represent recipients of federal grants that pay for statewide special education infrastructure have told their members to prepare for their in-progress grants to be cut.
Lindsey Wasson/AP
Special Education Fears Grow That Trump Will Cut Special Education Support Funding
Advocacy organizations are warning members to brace for "hundreds" of grant terminations.
Mark Lieberman, August 14, 2025
•
12 min read
Illustration of a budget sheet, pencil, and calculator.
Maxim Basinski/iStock/Getty
Education Funding Trump Wants to Cut More Than 40 Federal K-12 Programs. See Which Ones
The president's detailed budget, released Friday, proposes eliminating dozens of programs as part of a nearly $13 billion cut.
Mark Lieberman & Matthew Stone, June 4, 2025
•
2 min read
President Donald Trump holds up a signed executive order alongside Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 20, 2025.
President Donald Trump holds up a signed executive order alongside Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in the East Room of the White House in Washington on March 20, 2025. The president's budget proposes a 15% cut for the U.S. Department of Education.
Ben Curtis/AP
Education Funding Trump's Education Budget Calls for Billions in Cuts, Major Policy Changes
The proposal includes a plan to eliminate 18 existing grant programs and replace them with one funding stream.
Mark Lieberman, May 30, 2025
•
7 min read
Home is people. Concept of love, support and care. Family supports each other.
Aigul Garaeva/iStock + Education Week
Budget & Finance Opinion Title I and IDEA Have Transformed Schools. What Comes Next?
Keeping the focus on children most in need will demand political chops from local leaders, write two researchers.
Paul T. Hill & Ashley Jochim, May 28, 2025
•
5 min read
An aerial view of a maze made up of 100 dollar bills with two clay figures. One looks like Trump with blond hair and in a blue suit with a red tie and he's waving to another white business man in a suit walking away from him.
iStock/Getty
Education Funding The Big Questions About Trump's K-12 Budget Proposal, Answered
Trump is proposing to cut billions of dollars in K-12 investments, consolidate grant programs, and potentially rejigger special education law.
Mark Lieberman, May 5, 2025
•
13 min read
The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 17, 2024.
The U.S. Supreme Court as seen on Dec. 17, 2024. The court will hear arguments on April 28 in a case about the legal standard for discrimination for two federal disability-rights laws and how they play out in schools.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court to Weigh Discrimination Standard for Some Special Education Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court will consider what legal standard must be met for proving discrimination against students with disabilities.
Mark Walsh, April 24, 2025
•
9 min read
Professionals stand on an arrow that shifts from one parallel line to another, illustrating the concept of a realignment. One person is dressed as healthcare professional.
mathisworks/DigitalVision Vectors
Special Education Why Trump's Move to Shift Special Ed. to HHS Is Rattling Educators
Current and former staffers are wary of vague plans to move special education out of the Education Department.
Mark Lieberman & Brooke Schultz, March 28, 2025
•
9 min read
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign event, Sept. 27, 2024 in Walker, Mich.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., speaks a campaign event for then candidate Donald Trump on Sept. 27, 2024 in Walker, Mich. President Trump has announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, now led by Kennedy, would handle “special needs and all of the nutrition programs and everything else.”
Carlos Osorio/AP
Federal Trump Says RFK Jr. Will Oversee Special Education, Child Nutrition
Advocates are wary as the president's comments don't specify when or how the transition will happen.
Mark Lieberman, Brooke Schultz & Evie Blad, March 21, 2025
•
7 min read
Vector of a teacher hand holding puzzle piece bridging the gap in primary education for children
iStock/Getty Images
Special Education How Schools Make Up for the Feds' Unfulfilled Special Ed. Funding Commitment
Congress has never met a 50-year-old funding commitment it made for special education services.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, February 27, 2025
•
6 min read
Scarlett Rasmussen, 8, watches a video on her tablet as mother, Chelsea, administers medication while they get ready for school, Wednesday, May 17, 2023, at their home in Grants Pass, Ore. Chelsea, has fought for more than a year for her daughter, Scarlett, to attend full days at school after starting with a three-day school week. She says school employees told her the district lacked the staff to tend to Scarlett’s medical and educational needs, which the district denies. Scarlett is nonverbal and uses an electronic device and online videos to communicate, but reads at her grade level. She was born with a genetic condition that causes her to have seizures and makes it hard for her to eat and digest food, requiring her to need a resident nurse at school.
Scarlett Rasmussen, 8, watches a video on her tablet as mother, Chelsea, administers medication while they get ready for school, May 17, 2023, at their home in Grants Pass, Ore. The Education Department has scrapped a proposal that would have changed the process for how schools bill Medicaid for services they provide to students.
Lindsey Wasson/AP
Special Education Biden Administration Scraps Medicaid Change for Special Ed. Services
The proposal aimed to streamline how schools bill Medicaid for the mental health and medical services they provide to students.
Brooke Schultz, January 2, 2025
•
4 min read
Load More ▼