Essential education reporting across America

Special education

A student with disabilities at HeartShare Taranto preschool in Brooklyn receives occupational therapy.
Special education Special education
Many young kids missed early special ed services due to COVID, compounding work for schools
Tens of thousands of children missed early intervention and special education services during the pandemic, leaving preschools and elementary schools to fill in the gaps.
By Kalyn Belsha
 
A 13-year-old boy walks on a sidewalk next to a wooden fence. You can’t see his face. The photo is taken from the back. He is wearing a T-shirt.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Meeting the Moment
How Colorado is filling gaps for its ‘most vulnerable’ children as last-resort schools dwindle
“It’s a huge, complex system, and it’d be naive to think one piece of legislation is going to fix everything,” one state official said.
By Melanie Asmar and Rae Ellen Bichell
 
The shadows of children playing can be seen on the blacktop.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Meeting the Moment
Colorado is pouring more money into schools for kids with behavioral health issues and disabilities
But are they helping?
By Jennifer Brown and Melanie Asmar
 
A dark-haired child is seen from above working on an art project. A half circle and rays depict a sun. The child is coloring a long orange arc.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Meeting the Moment
Students in rural Colorado left without options as specialized schools close
A single facility school serves all of Colorado’s Western Slope, while rural schools struggle to hire skilled staff. Some children have to cross mountain ranges to get an education.
By Rae Ellen Bichell and Helen Santoro
 
A woman hugs her 13-year-old son’s head. Her face and his face are obscured. The boy is hugging a small white dog.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Special education
Facility schools that take Colorado’s ‘most vulnerable’ students are disappearing. Can they be saved? Should they?
What happens when public schools can’t or won’t meet kids’ needs — and the wait for a specialized school is weeks or months?
By Melanie Asmar
 
Students walk between aisles of desks. The desks have papers and other school supplies.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Special education
Colorado promises $70 million over 3 years, hopes to see 12 new facility schools open
The additional support could help the beleaguered facility school system grow by 40% statewide.
By Jennifer Brown
 
A teenage boy in a superman shirt looks at a computer screen side by side with a young man.
From Chalkbeat Colorado English language learners
Parents who don’t speak English would have more access to translated documents under Colorado bill
“An IEP isn’t a good IEP unless the parents are providing their input.”
By Erica Meltzer
 
Josue Bonilla, 13, left, gets a high five from his teacher Wendi Sussman, right, after completing a hard reading lesson in his multi-intensive special education class at STRIVE Prep charter school in Denver in 2016.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Chalkbeat En Español
¿Tu hijo(a) tiene una discapacidad? Pronto podrás pedir que se traduzcan documentos
Los que defienden esta iniciativa dicen que los padres que no hablan inglés necesitan tener acceso a documentos en un idioma que entiendan para poder colaborar en la elaboración del plan de educación especial de sus hijos.
By Erica Meltzer
 
A student works on letter sounds, using a board with magnetic letters at a circular table.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Special education
Colorado special education gets long-awaited funding boost, lawmakers meet 2006 promise
Special education is in the midst of a staffing crisis. A funding boost in this year’s Colorado budget could provide some relief.
By Erica Meltzer
 
Empty school hallway and door.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Politics & Policy
Bill requiring training for expulsion hearing officers moves forward
If passed into law, it will extend some protections to students facing expulsion and require hearing officers to undergo training in trauma, adolescent brain development.
By Erica Meltzer
 
In a classroom sits an empty blue chair next to a wooden desk.
From Chalkbeat Detroit Teaching & Classroom
Detroit district fires elementary school assistant principal accused of choking a student
It’s the latest in a string of disciplinary actions against district employees over alleged mistreatment of students.
By Ethan Bakuli
 
Regis University students gather outside for class during the first week of the 2020 fall semester.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Special education
Students with intellectual disabilities have trouble finding college support. Regis University has a new program to help.
Colorado has three other programs tailored to the learning needs of students with disabilities.
By Jason Gonzales
 
Several parents and their children wait outside of a school building before the start of a summer program. They are all wearing protective masks.
From Chalkbeat New York Community & Wraparound Programs
Summer Rising applications are now open. Here’s everything you need to know
In its third year, the program will again have 110,000 spots and will be open to any child in New York City — but there are a couple changes to the application process.
By Reema Amin
 
Students at P.S. 89 in Brooklyn await their families at the end of the school day during the last week of New York City’s 2020-2021 school year.
From Chalkbeat New York COVID Stimulus
As NYC enrollment has dropped, per-student spending has grown past $37K: report
The education department’s spending per pupil has increased by 46%, in large part due to the billions in federal COVID aid the district received as enrollment has dipped.
By Reema Amin
 
Students raise their fingers in a classroom together, all wearing protective masks.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Special education
Study: Gifted education too often excludes English learners, students with disabilities
State policies can improve representation of those students, according to the study. Colorado is putting more resources into universal identification.
By Yesenia Robles
 
A teacher sits at a table with a kindergarten boy who is looking at a paper using a magnifying glass.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Special education
More than 1,000 Denver students missed speech therapy due to staff shortage, state finds
“Right now, for my son, the only option I have is to pull him out of school to take him to speech therapy,” one parent told the school board.
By Melanie Asmar
 
A student puts their head on a desk with a pencil in his hand. A pile of books is seen off to one side.
From Chalkbeat New York Special education
64% of NYC’s bilingual special education students didn’t get all of their services last year
“It is unconscionable that the city has yet to fully close the gaps for immigrants with disabilities,” one advocate said.
By Alex Zimmerman
 
A third grade boy sits at the edge of a fountain, smiling toward the camera.
From Chalkbeat New York Chronic Absenteeism
School bus delays help drive chronic absenteeism for students with disabilities, advocates say
Students with disabilities are disproportionately harmed by the hundreds of school buses delayed each day, New York City parents and advocates say. The bus driver shortage has only made things worse.
By Amanda Geduld
 
Two men wearing suits walk in a crowded hallway with a chandalier in the backdrop.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Politics & Policy
Tennessee House speaker proposes task force to look into rejecting federal education funds
Schwinn would chair panel and report back by Dec. 1
By Marta W. Aldrich
 
man wearing a business suit stands at a podium
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Special education
Tennessee is talking about rejecting federal education funding. What would that mean for kids?
From students with disabilities to schools serving disadvantaged students, ‘there’s just a lot of uncertainty’
By Marta W. Aldrich
 
A teacher wearing a white lab coat and face mask points at a picture projected at the front of the class while students wearing face masks sit and watch.
From Chalkbeat Newark Special education
Newark parents of children with autism face barriers to care as cases spike in New Jersey
Researchers find racial and wealth disparities in diagnoses, and call for more research and services.
By Jessie Gomez
 
A shelf with four photos of children and a colorful classroom carpet.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Early Childhood Education
Fears flare that Colorado free preschool could shortchange kids with learning delays
Officials from several Colorado school districts are worried they’ll lose funding for preschoolers with disabilities next year.
By Ann Schimke
 
The exterior of a large white building with columns and steps.
From Chalkbeat New York Special education
Lawsuit on behalf of NYC students with disabilities who lost services during the pandemic goes ahead
The case will head back to federal court after an appeals court ruled the case had been incorrectly dismissed.
By Alex Zimmerman
 
Two girls are sitting on the floor in an elementary school classroom. Their teacher sits in the middle while they play with wooden toy blocks.
From Chalkbeat Newark Special education
NJ isn’t tracking school district compliance with COVID-related law for students with disabilities
School districts had until the end of 2022 to schedule meetings about makeup services with parents of students with disabilities.
By Jessie Gomez
 
Student holds a pencil to a notebook placed on a desk.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Special education
Why Colorado schools for students with intense needs are struggling to stay open and how lawmakers could help
“These are children’s lives that are at stake here,” said state Sen. Rachel Zenzinger.
By Melanie Asmar
 
A student works on letter sounds, using a board with magnetic letters at a circular table.
From Chalkbeat Detroit Politics & Policy
Bipartisan dyslexia reforms fail again in Michigan Legislature. What’s next?
Advocates now have to navigate a crowded legislative agenda as Democrats take power in Lansing
By Tracie Mauriello and Koby Levin
 
Classroom 12 at HeartShare Taranto in Brooklyn relies on a rotating mix of substitute teachers and other staffers ever since the special education teacher left for a higher-paying job at the education department.
From Chalkbeat New York Special education
Adding 800 pre-K special education seats will provide enough for all who need them, mayor says
Mayor Eric Adams plans to open 800 new special education seats for New York City’s for 3- and 4-year-old children by this spring. Hundreds of kids have been waiting to get into programs that meet their needs.
By Reema Amin
 
Newark_20221205_SpEd_GettyImages_001.JPG
From Chalkbeat Newark Special education
NJ advocates urge state to ensure schools address students with disabilities who missed services during COVID
Under a state law passed in March, school districts are required to hold meetings with parents of students with disabilities by Dec. 31 to discuss how their student can make up services missed due to remote learning during the pandemic.
By Jessie Gomez
 
Students in black T-shirts stand behind a blue table with adults wearing suits on the other side.
From Chalkbeat New York Special education
NYC Chancellor Banks lays out his vision for improving special education
Families of students with disabilities have for years described an opaque and complex system that makes it difficult to obtain appropriate support for their kids.
By Michael Elsen-Rooney
 
Students wear masks while sitting at desks in a class.
From Chalkbeat Newark Special education
NJ schools must address students with disabilities who missed services during the pandemic by Dec. 31
Legal experts recommend parents of students with disabilities make a written request to their school districts to schedule IEP meetings about services called “compensatory education” by Dec. 31.
By Jessie Gomez
 
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