Category: News

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.

New COPPA Rule to take effect in June (April 28, 2025)

As reported by K-12 Dive, updates to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) are to take effect on June 23, but companies have until April 22, 2026, to fully comply, according to the amended final rule published by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) earlier this week.

Though COPPA itself does not explicitly mention schools, the updated rule will impact how K-12 leaders interact with ed tech companies, according to student data privacy experts.

One of the key changes in the latest COPPA Rule is that companies must obtain parental consent before using children’s data for targeted advertising or disclosing their information to third parties, according to the April 22 notice published in the Federal Register. However, school districts are still allowed to give consent to ed tech companies in lieu of parental consent as long as that data is solely used for educational purposes and not commercially. 

Schools should expect to see more transparency from ed tech companies, given that they are required under the new COPPA Rule to provide a direct notice to parents — or in this case school districts — about how they plan to collect and use children’s data upon receiving consent.

The new rule also states that companies must put limits on retaining children’s data and cannot hold onto it indefinitely.

View the original article from K-12 Dive.

PDE Awards $14 Million in Dual Credit Innovation Grants to 15 Postsecondary Schools Across PA (April 28, 2025)

Dual credit programs open doors to opportunity for students by helping them earn college credit while still in high school. So, on Monday, April 28, 2025. the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) announced that the Shapiro Administration has awarded $14 million in grant funding to 15 public institutions of higher education to enable more high school students to enroll in dual credit programs across the Commonwealth, giving them more opportunities to chart their own course and prepare for successful careers. 

“Dual credit programs open doors for students to get a head start on college and career success,” said Acting Secretary of Education Dr. Carrie Rowe. â€œBy investing in these opportunities, we’re helping more young people—especially those historically underrepresented in higher education—access in-demand courses that lead to credentials and careers our workforce needs. It’s about expanding opportunity and creating pathways to a future they choose.”

Dual credit programs improve student outcomes by enabling them to take college courses and earn credits for both high school and college – while still in high school. Dual credit offerings improve academic achievement, high school graduation rates, college enrollment, and college completion rates. In an effort to enable more underrepresented student access to dual credit programs, in July 2024 the School Code established the Dual Credit Innovation Grant Program. The purpose of the program is to provide funding for public colleges and universities to increase capacity to provide dual credit courses.

Awardees include:

Berks County
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, $946,951

Bucks County
Bucks County Community College (Main), $1,000,000

Cambria County
Pennsylvania Highlands Community College, $1,000,000

Chester County
West Chester University of Pennsylvania, $576,066.74

Dauphin County
Harrisburg Area Community College (Wildwood), $808,454.13

Erie County
Erie County Community College, $1,000,000

Indiana County
Indiana University of Pennsylvania (Main), $808,454.13

Lehigh County
Lehigh Carbon Community College, $1,000,000

Luzerne County
Luzerne County Community College, $1,000,000

Lycoming County
Pennsylvania College of Technology, $1,000,000

Northampton County
Northampton County Community College (Main), $860,161

Philadelphia County
Community College of Philadelphia, $999,982

Warren County
Northern Pennsylvania Regional College, $1,000,000

Washington County
Pennsylvania Westen University, $999,931

Westmoreland County
Westmoreland County Community College, $1,000,000

Governor Josh Shapiro’s 2025-26 budget proposal builds on his commitment to creating prosperous pathways for learners across the Commonwealth. The Governor’s proposed 2025-26 budget includes continued support for public higher education, calling for a $13 million increase for community colleges, a $40 million increase for PASSHE universities, and $60 million to be distributed via performance-based funding for Pitt, Penn State, and Temple.

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.

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