This article was published on Maine Public by Robbie Feinberg on January 4, 2021. For students with disabilities, it’s important that needed services be provided as early as possible. But schools and state officials acknowledge that low wages and teacher shortages have left many families waiting for those services, with the pandemic only making the problem […]
This article was published on Florida Politics by Ryan Nicol on January 4, 2021. Rep. Bobby DuBose, a Fort Lauderdale Democrat, is refiling legislation looking to reduce certain restrictive punishments for students with disabilities. DuBose’s bill (HB 149) will serve as the companion measure to Senate legislation filed late last month by Sen. Lauren Book. The measures […]
This article was published on Chicago Sun Times by Fran Spielman on December 14, 2020. Chicago taxpayers will spend $300,000 to compensate a former 16-year-old special needs student Tased and wrestled down a flight of stairs by police officers at Marshall High School after refusing to put away her cellphone during a test. On Monday, the City […]
This article was published on Chalkbest Detroit by Koby Levin on December 22, 2020. Michigan has spent tens of millions of taxpayer dollars aimed at improving early literacy, yet roughly one in three Michigan fourth-graders don’t have basic reading skills, a figure that has hardly budged in two decades. Sen. Jim Runestad says he can help […]
This article was published on WTTW by Matt Masterson on December 18, 2020. This story was produced by the Teacher Project, an education reporting fellowship at Columbia Journalism School. NUTLEY, N.J. – Ever since Carlos Tejada was diagnosed with autism at 13 months old, his parents have struggled to find him the right services. It was […]
This article was published on WTTW by Matt Masterson on December 18, 2020. By the time Arlene Comendador joined Frazier International Magnet School on Chicago’s West Side last winter, she already knew she wanted more for herself in her career. Comendador began work as a substitute teaching English language arts at the elementary school, but […]
This article was published on WLRN by Lynn Hatter on December 16, 2020. Each year, about 36,000 children in Florida are involuntarily committed for psychiatric evaluations under the state’s Baker Act and disabled kids are becoming increasingly ensnared. The Baker Act was not designed for kids, yet the number of children who are involuntarily committed […]
This article was published on Stars and Stripes by Rose L. Thayer on December 16, 2020. AUSTIN, Texas — The Navy has hired two special education lawyers as part of a three-year pilot program to expand support for service members enrolled in the Exceptional Family Member Program. The two civilian attorneys, who have a background […]
This article was published on Berkeleyside by Ally Markovich on December 11, 2020. Since schools shut their doors in March, Dalilah’s* son has been struggling. When classes moved online, Adam* began to despise school. First, he refused to open his computer. Then came the meltdowns. Adam has a language disability that makes it difficult for […]
This article was published on Advocate Lake Highlands by Carol Toler on December 9, 2020. On the first day of school last year, first grader Alora Huebner told her mother, Kristin Milota, she wanted to meet the school’s new principal. Alora had completed kindergarten and was ready for first grade at White Rock Elementary after […]