On Special Education
Explored the opportunities and obstacles educators encounter while serving students with special needs, including children with disabilities, gifted students, and those who are homeless or incarcerated. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: students with disabilities, gifted education, and homeless.
College & Workforce Readiness
Grad-Rate Rise for Special Education Students Beats That of Overall Population
The graduation rate among students with disabilities reached 64.6 percent in the 2014-15 school year, the highest since the Education Department started requiring states to use the same measure.
Assessment
New Federal Special Education Grants Support Literacy, Testing, and Transition
The U.S. Department of Education's grants will pay for a comprehensive literacy center based in Oregon, as well as workforce demonstration projects in five states.
States
Ed. Dept. Seeks to Halt Texas' Special Education Enrollment Benchmark
The U.S. Department of Education said Texas must stop using a guideline for special education enrollment that may have led to thousands of children being denied services they were qualified to receive.
Law & Courts
U.S. Supreme Court to Decide Level of 'Benefit' Special Education Must Provide
The Court plans to take up a case that centers on what benefit a "free, appropriate public education" must provide to a child covered under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act.
Special Education
Education Secretary Notes Progress, Challenges at Spec. Ed. Convention
U.S. Secretary of Education John King Jr. addressed the first joint meeting between two groups that represent district and state-level special education leaders.
Assessment
Vermont Questions Price Hike for Common-Core Aligned Alternate Test
The board overseeing Dynamic Learning Maps created a price structure that dramatically raises the cost of the common core-aligned test, which is intended for students with severe cognitive disabilities.
Special Education
Clinton Pledges More Economic Support for People With Disabilities
People with disabilities don't want pity, they want a paycheck, the Democratic presidential candidate told a crowd of supporters in Orlando, Fla.
Education Funding
How Much Does Special Education Cost in Michigan? No One Really Knows
Michigan Radio recently reported on the challenge of figuring out just what a state spends to educate its students with disabilities.
Special Education
Texas Special Education Camera Law Just Got a Lot Broader
The Texas attorney general said that a request for a camera from one parent requires that a district install cameras in self-contained classrooms throughout the district.
School & District Management
How Texas Keeps Special Education Enrollment Low
School officials say that oversight from the state prompted them to keep special education enrollment at no more than 8.5 percent, even if that meant delaying evaluations or shifting kids into services that offered less legal obligation.
Special Education
Federal Lawsuit Against Georgia School Network Alleges Disability-Law Violations
The Justice Department lawsuit, which was expected, says the Georgia Network for Educational and Therapeutic Support, or GNETS, segregates students with emotional and behavioral disabilities.
Equity & Diversity
Report: Justice Department to Sue Georgia Over Special Education School Network
The Justice Department will take action against Georgia after eight months of fruitless negotiations over a state network of schools for students with emotional and behavioral disabilities.
Classroom Technology
Virtual Schools Must Follow Special Education Rules, Ed. Department Says
States and districts that run virtual schools should ensure those schools follow mandates around such issues as testing and student identification, says a "Dear Colleague" letter from the U.S. Department of Education.
Special Education
Maryland District's Officials Seek to Drop Gifted and Talented Label
The Baltimore County school district wants to change district policy to include other types of advanced academic work, such as Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses.