IDEA is the cornerstone federal law that safeguards and promotes the educational rights of children with disabilities. It was enacted in 1975 as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA), which established a right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for all children with disabilities for the first time. Before the EHA, there…

More than 90% of IDEA funding is allocated to Part B, Grants to States (Section 611), which contains funding and policy provisions related to special education for children ages 3 to 21. The influence of federal Part B, Grants to States funding on state and local funding decisions is twofold: 1) it links eligibility for IDEA grants to compliance…

This Insight Brief discusses how students with intellectual disability can utilize federal financial aid to help pay for college. This publication is updated annually to reflect current legislation and policy related to federal financial aid for students with intellectual disabilities. The information provided is current as of January 2023.

This report explains how State Entity (SE) Program grantees are using or proposed to use the technical assistance (TA) set-aside portion of their Charter School Programs (CSP) funds for these activities. This report also describes SE activities to ensure subgrantees are equipped to meet the needs of all students, and specifically students with…

Special education teachers ensure equitable access to education for 7.2 million public school students with disabilities. According to the January 2022 results of the National Center for Education Statistics school survey, 45% of responding schools reported that special education was identified as the teaching area with the most vacancies. This…

Provisions in the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA), passed in 2008, make it possible for students with intellectual disability (ID) who demonstrate financial need to take advantage of some kinds of federal financial aid to help pay for college. The HEOA describes a new type of college program, called a Comprehensive Transition Program…

The purpose of this document is to answer Frequently Asked Questions about how funding under the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund, including the American Rescue Plan ESSER (ARP ESSER) program, and the Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund may be used in response to the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019…

The purpose of this document is to answer Frequently Asked Questions about how funding under the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund, including the American Rescue Plan ESSER (ARP ESSER) program, and the Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund may be used in response to the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019…

It has been three years since Mike DeWine was sworn in to serve as Ohio's 70th governor, joined by Jon Husted as lieutenant governor. From the very beginning, Governor DeWine requested that his Cabinet listen carefully to the people of the state and then proceed to act with a sense of urgency to strengthen and improve the great state of Ohio. This…

This letter highlights existing Federal K-12 resources that can support resettled Afghan students enrolling in public schools. The U.S. Department of Education recognizes that there is an immediate and urgent need to provide high-quality, culturally responsive education to Afghan newcomers -- inclusive of primary, secondary, and English language…

This report provides a brief overview of the major provisions of the Higher Education Act (HEA), organized by title and part. Appendix A of this report provides detailed appropriations figures for HEA programs, from FY2019 through FY2023. Appendix B gives a brief overview of the General Education Provisions Act, which applies to the majority of…

In the Fiscal Year 2022 Executive Budget Recommendation and the spending of Governor's Emergency Education Relief Funds, Governor Whitmer outlines investments intended to support the immediate recovery students require, while also making progress on the long-term goal of building a more equitable approach to school funding. This document is…

This article describes rural and remote teacher training in low incidence (LI) disabilities through an alternative teaching pathway (ATP) and the efforts of one university's ATP program to address the ongoing critical special education teacher shortage in rural and remote school districts. The impact of the federal investment in…

In the Fiscal Year 2021 Executive Budget Recommendation, Governor Whitmer outlines additional investments to support Michigan schools and particularly Michigan students with additional needs, including students from low-income families, English learners and students with disabilities. This document is intended to highlight key pieces of Governor…

On January 14, 2019, Mike DeWine was sworn in as Ohio's 70th governor. Jon Husted joined Governor DeWine and received the oath of office as Ohio's Lieutenant Governor. From the very beginning, Governor DeWine requested that his Cabinet listen carefully to the people of the state and then proceed to act with a sense of urgency to change Ohio.…