Category: News in the Field

Federal “Skinny Budget” for FY 2026 Released, IDEA to be Moved out of USDE (May 2, 2025)

On May 2, 2025, Office of Budget Management (OMB) Director Russell Vaught sent a letter to Appropriations Committee Chair Senator Susan Collins providing her with President Trump’s recommendations on discretionary funding levels for fiscal year (FY) 2026. The “Skinny Budget” provided is in advance of the President’s full fiscal plan. According to the documents shared, it is clear the president’s budget moves IDEA out of the U.S. Department of Education (USDE).

On the same day, U.S. Ed. Sec. Linda McMahon released a USDE press release in support of the budget. In the release she said, “The President’s Skinny Budget reflects funding levels for an agency that is responsibly winding down…and thoughtfully preparing a plan to delegate other critical functions to more appropriate entities.” Click here to view the release.

Click to view the skinny budget on the OMB website at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/information-resources/budget/the-presidents-fy-2026-discretionary-budget-request/.

BSE Sends Sp. Ed. Plan Requirements to LEAs – Identification of Students with SLD using RtI (April 29, 2025)

The PA Bureau of Special Education (BSE) has revised the application process for utilizing Response to Intervention (RTI) to identify students with a Specific Learning Disability (SLD). Initial applications for school districts and charter schools may be submitted on an on-going basis. There is no deadline for submission.

The revised process requires school districts and charter schools to submit the BSE Approved RTI/SLD Fidelity Tool as the application to PDE. The BSE Approved RTI/SLD Fidelity Tool will be used school-wide or for building levels (e.g., elementary, middle, and/or high school). Additional information and the BSE Approved RTI/SLD Fidelity Tool are available on the PaTTAN website.

School districts and charter schools must partner with their local intermediate unit and/or respective PaTTAN Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) lead consultant to conduct a comprehensive review using the BSE Approved RTI/SLD Fidelity Tool and to receive assistance with the process.

School districts and charter schools must partner with their local intermediate unit and/or respective PaTTAN Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) lead consultant to conduct a comprehensive review using the BSE Approved RTI/SLD Fidelity Tool and to receive assistance with the process.

Please contact PaTTAN MTSS designees below for support:

Upon review of all documentation, the BSE will issue a letter indicating the application is approved, disapproved, or requires revision.

For school districts and charter schools currently approved to implement RTI for SLD Determination, please continue to use the BSE Approved RTI/SLD Fidelity Tool for internal assessment and improvement.

Additionally, school districts and charter schools are required to outline use of RTI for SLD Determination as part of the required submission for the district comprehensive special education plan and charter school annual report assurances within the Future Ready Comprehensive Planning Portal.

Questions related to this message may be directed to Shannon Eye, Special Education Adviser, at 717-829-5113 or [email protected].

IDEA Part C Services Face Possible Budget Cuts (April 28, 2025)

The Part C early intervention program is stable for now, but advocates and researchers are worried about potential cuts to Medicaid and appropriations. The Part C program that supports infants and toddlers with developmental delays and their families could face significant fiscal pressures due to the Trump administration’s overall efforts to reduce the size and budget of the federal government. 

While no specific cuts to the Part C program have been announced yet, Congress will be contemplating proposals to whittle down annual allocations and a possible reduction to Medicaid payments — both of which help prop up early intervention services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

The Part C program served 462,847 children ages 2 and younger in 2023. That’s a 4.8% increase over 2022, according to an analysis by The Advocacy Institute, a nonprofit focused on improving the lives of people with disabilities. IDEA’s Part B program served 7.9 million children ages 3-21 in 2023. 

States voluntarily participate in Part C because the federal government does not permanently authorize it. Currently, all states participate in the Part C program.

Perhaps the biggest threat to Part C is potential cuts to Medicaid. Federal and state Medicaid contributions were the third-largest funding source for Part C at $683 million in 2023, according to research from the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.

To view the original article from K-12 Dive, click here.

Federal Judge Rules Against Anti-DEI Policy (April 26, 2025)

In a U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia April 24, 2025 ruling, supported the plaintiffs’ claim that the anti-DEI policy outlined in a Feb. 14 Dear Colleague letter is “unconstitutionally vague.” In particular, the policy would make enforcement difficult because it did not explain the difference between “a lawful DEI practice and an unlawful one.”

The lawsuit was brought by the NAACP. For more details, click here.

Legal Challenge to Sec. 504 is Dropped (April 26, 2025)

According to a joint status report submitted by plaintiffs and defendants, a lawsuit that was seen as a constitutional challenge against Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act will no longer be pursued. The states involved as plaintiffs in the case filed in September 2024 were: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia

Disability rights advocates and families with children who receive Section 504 accommodations in schools raised concerns about the states’ lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). That lawsuit challenged an HHS rule that includes gender dysphoria in the definition of a disability under Section 504 and originally argued that Section 504 was unconstitutional.

Click for more from K-12 Dive.