Category: Federal Government Actions

Science of Reading Bill Unanimously Passes U.S. House Ed. Committee (March 18, 2026)

As reported by The 74, on March 17, 2026 legislation passed unanimously by the U.S. House Education committee would require states that receive federal literacy grants to follow the science of reading. The unanimous bipartisan vote is a sign that improving reading outcomes is a goal shared by both Republicans and Democrats.

The bill defines the science of reading as instruction that teaches phonics and phonemic awareness, and also builds vocabulary, fluency, comprehension and writing skills. The legislation would prohibit grantees from allowing three-cueing, the practice of prompting students to identify words based on pictures or other clues in a sentence. The bill now moves to the full House.

For more from The 74, click here.

Governors Promote Special Ed. Initiatives in Annual Gubernatorial Addresses (March 17, 2026)

As reported by K-12 Dive, amid funding challenges some state leaders draw attention to budgets and programs that support students with disabilities. In fact, special education initiatives were a priority for several governors in their annual state of state addresses — including in Idaho, Kansas, New Mexico and Pennsylvania — at a time when the national count of students with disabilities continues to rise and as the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) moves more K-12 responsibilities to the states. 

In Kansas, for instance, Gov. Laura Kelly highlighted the state’s $120 million investment in special education programs in recent years during her January speech. Kelly is also proposing $50 million to support students with disabilities in fiscal year 2027.

States are facing myriad challenges when it comes to overall K-12 public school funding, including a shrinking student population, competition with private school choice, the expiration of federal COVID-19 emergency aid, and state fiscal pressures for early and higher education programs, housing and older adults services.  To learn more from K-12 Dive, click here.

Federal Judge Blocks Changes to Childhood Vaccine Schedule (March 16, 2026)

As reported by NBC News, on March 16, 2026 a federal judge in Massachusetts blocked Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent overhaul of the nation’s childhood vaccine schedule.

The ruling stems from a lawsuit the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and other medical groups brought against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), arguing that the changes to vaccine recommendations and to an influential vaccine advisory committee violated federal law.

In January, Kennedy and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made wide-ranging changes to the childhood vaccine schedule, reducing the number of recommended diseases to be vaccinated against from 18 to 11. The change dropped recommendations that all babies should be protected against hepatitis A, hepatitis B, RSV, dengue and two types of bacterial meningitis.

As a result, more than 200 organizations, including the American Medical Association, the March of Dimes and the Autism Science Foundation, announced they would disregard the changes and instead follow the AAP’s immunization schedule.

The ruling also put on hold the new members Kennedy has appointed to the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee since June. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) helps shape U.S. vaccine policy, including recommendations that influence the childhood vaccine schedule and which shots insurance must cover.

The ruling also stayed any of the votes the ACIP has taken since June, including a vote to no longer recommend the hepatitis B vaccine for all newborns.

For more from NBC News, click here.

State Performance Plan Data Requirements – Postsecondary School Survey – Cohort 5 (MP4S) (March 16, 2026)

The accountability requirement under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004 mandates each state determines the extent to which students are achieving transition outcomes (State Performance Plan – Indicator 14). To meet the federal reporting requirement, each local educational agency (LEA) is mandated to administer an Exit Process and Post-School Surveys to students (who have graduated, dropped out or reached the maximum age) with individualized education programs (IEPs) once over a five-year period, based on the LEA’s assignment to a targeted sampling year.

To meet this federal reporting requirement, once over a five-year period, each local educational agency (LEA) is required to survey all students with IEPs who graduate, dropout, or age out. The My Plan For Success process (MP4S) will be used to gather this data. The random sampling process used to assign each LEA to one of the five years in each cycle ensures that the LEAs selected each year are representative of the state as a whole with regard to LEA size, disability category, ethnicity, gender, and exiting status.

During the 2024-2025 school year, LEAs assigned to Target Sampling Cohort 5 completed the exit process. The LEAs assigned to MP4S Cohort 5 need to be aware of the following points as they must fulfill the post-survey requirements during the 2025-2026 school year:

No earlier than one year after the student left school and no later than September 26, 2026, the LEA will need to administer the MP4S post survey to former students who had an IEP and who graduated, dropped out, or aged out at the end of the 2024-2025 school year. (These former students should have been administered the exit survey in Spring of 2025). All this information will be entered by your LEA through the online PDE/IMS (Integrated Monitoring System).

Intermediate Unit and Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) transition consultants will monitor the LEA’s progress and assist as needed with the MP4S procedure.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Bureau of Special Education will provide training on the implementation and electronic submission of the MP4S Target Year 5 to LEAs via a webinar scheduled for April 9, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Please register for this webinar at the My Plan for Success Overview and Procedural Training webpage.

For a list of LEAs assigned to the 2025-2026 Cohort 5 POST or questions about this process, please contact Hillary Mangis, Educational Consultant at the PaTTAN-Pittsburgh Office, at (800) 446-5607, ext. 6878 (inside PA) or via email at hmangis@pattanpgh.net.

GSA Plan Would Ban DEI for All Federal Funding Recipients, Including Schools (March 11, 2026)

A General Services Administration (GSA) proposal, which follows a similar policy from the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) that was blocked in courts, would require federal funding recipients to certify that they are not knowingly hiring or recruiting undocumented staff. The proposed policy is in support of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration and its desire to ban diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) and accessibility programs at schools and elsewhere, with a proposal that would require all federal funding recipients to certify that they do not have such initiatives.

The certification would cover programs the Trump administration calls “discriminatory practices,” such as race-based scholarships or programs, “cultural competence” requirements, and “overcoming obstacles” narratives or “diversity statements.” Training programs that “create a hostile environment” would likewise be prohibited for entities that get federal funding. 

The move continues the administration’s anti-DEI push, which hit a roadblock in the education sector when federal courts last year blocked the U.S. Department of Education from implementing a similar measure.

However, in February, the Trump administration also scored a legal victory in its anti-DEI efforts, when the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals undid a temporary pause against three major provisions in two executive orders aimed at eliminating DEI practices in education and other sectors.

GSA, which posted the proposed requirement earlier this year, estimates it would impact 222,760 entities receiving federal funds.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.