IDEA

Learn more about the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and how it affects schools and students
Illustration of Benjamin Franklin on a one hundred dollar bill looking at a calculator that says "recalculating."
Laura Baker/Education Week and hamzaturkkol/iStock/Getty
Education Funding This State Would Be the First to Reject Federal K-12 Funds. But It's Far From a Given
Tennessee lawmakers have established a task force to review federal education funding, risking money for low-income schools and special ed.
Libby Stanford, November 13, 2023
•
8 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
Special Education Letter to the Editor Schools Must Do Better to Meet IDEA Requirements
More states must follow through on this law.
September 19, 2023
•
1 min read
Image of a classroom under a magnifying glass.
Tarras79 and iStock/Getty
Special Education Do More to Ensure Schools Meet Obligations to Students With Disabilities, Feds Tell States
States must have "robust" systems to ensure schools obey federal special education law, new guidance says.
Evie Blad, July 27, 2023
•
4 min read
Special Education teacher Amy Kenyon goes over a reading assignment with her students at Harrison Elementary School in Twin Falls, Idaho, on March 8, 2018. All special education students follow individualized education programs, which are tailored to their special needs.
Special Education teacher Amy Kenyon goes over a reading assignment with her students at Harrison Elementary School in Twin Falls, Idaho, on March 8, 2018. All special education students follow individualized education programs, which are tailored to their special needs.
Pat Sutphin/The Times-News via AP
Special Education Explainer What Is an IEP? Individualized Education Programs, Explained
What IEPs are, what their purpose is, and which students are eligible.
Eesha Pendharkar, July 27, 2023
•
1 min read
Photo of teacher working with special-needs student.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
Student Well-Being A Medicaid Change Could Make It Easier for Schools to Pay for Special Ed. Services
A rule change from The U.S. Department of Education would eliminate a step that often complicates schools' efforts to bill Medicaid.
Libby Stanford, May 18, 2023
•
8 min read
Image of a student working with a teacher.
Canva
Special Education Quiz How Does Special Education Funding Work? Test Your Knowledge
What is IDEA? How much can the federal government contribute to special education funding? Take our quiz.
Mark Lieberman, May 4, 2023
•
1 min read
Special education teacher Savannah Tucker works with Bode Jasper at the Early Childhood Education Center in Tupelo, Miss., on May 14, 2019. As the special education population has grown, so has mainstreaming - bringing these students into regular classrooms for at least part of their school days.
Special education teacher Savannah Tucker works with Bode Jasper at the Early Childhood Education Center in Tupelo, Miss., on May 14, 2019. Special education costs are rising, particularly as student needs have grown more complex since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thomas Wells/The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal via AP
Budget & Finance Special Education Is Getting More Expensive, Forcing Schools to Make Cuts Elsewhere
States and districts share the disproportionate cost burden of supporting a complex, growing, and vulnerable population.
Mark Lieberman, April 20, 2023
•
8 min read
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
•
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
•
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
•
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
•
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
•
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
•
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
•
4 min read
Load More ▼