Special needs education
Claims fall far short of $10M Georgia special education fund

By Jeff Amy Jun. 25, 2021 05:54 PM EDT
ATLANTA (AP) — With just days before a deadline to claim expenses, state officials say parents of children with special education needs have claimed only a...

Highlights of Republican-authored Wisconsin state budget

By Scott Bauer Jun. 17, 2021 10:30 AM EDT
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Legislature's budget-writing committee completed its work Thursday on the state's next two-year spending plan, paving the...

Teacher Juliana Urtubey, right, works with A'Real Wilkerson-Lay in a class at Kermit R Booker Sr Elementary School Wednesday, May 5, 2021, in Las Vegas. Urtubey is the the 2021 National Teacher of the Year. (AP Photo/John Locher)
National Teacher of Year focuses on individual student needs

By Michelle L. Price May. 06, 2021 08:45 AM EDT

State orders Chicago to fix special education in detention

By Kelly Garcia Of Injustice Watch Apr. 24, 2021 01:01 AM EDT
CHICAGO (AP) — The Illinois State Board of Education has ordered Chicago Public Schools to fix problems with special education services for students at the...

New in-person start date pushed back for Seattle schools

Mar. 09, 2021 02:04 PM EST
SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle officials say the start of in-person classes for some special-education students and preschoolers has been pushed back to March 29. ...

Lear Preston, 4, who attends Scott Joplin Elementary School, participates in her virtual classes as her mother, Brittany Preston, background, assists at their residence in Chicago's South Side, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. Starting Thursday, Lear will return to class as the nation's third-largest school district slowly reopens its doors following a bitter fight with the teachers union over COVID-19 safety protocols. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar)
Chicago schools reopen doors after tough union fight

By Sophia Tareen And Don Babwin Feb. 11, 2021 03:07 PM EST

Chicago parent Rosa Esquivel, right, helps her 10-year-old daughter Veronica Esquivel, who attends Andrew Jackson Elementary School, with her homework after virtual school hours, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, at their residence in Chicago's predominantly Hispanic Pilsen neighborhood. Rosa is not sending her children to school and doesn't believe that the schools will be safe from the coronavirus, which made her mother and sister sick and killed an aunt and uncle in her native Guatemala. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar)
Chicago begins return to classrooms after bitter union fight

By Sophia Tareen And Don Babwin Feb. 10, 2021 10:59 PM EST

Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson speaks during a news conference as Mayor Lori Lightfoot, background, listens, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021, at City Hall in Chicago. Jackson and Lightfoot announced that a tentative agreement has been reached with the Chicago Teachers Union to reopen schools. The proposed deal is subject to an approval vote by CTU's House of Delegates. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune via AP)
Chicago mayor touts deal with union to reopen schools

By Sophia Tareen Feb. 07, 2021 01:23 PM EST

Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks to reporters after visiting preschool classrooms at Dawes Elementary School in Chicago, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Monday was the first day of optional in-person learning for preschoolers and some special education students in Chicago Public Schools after going remote last March due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP, Pool)
Chicago schools, union continue talks over virus safety plan

By Sophia Tareen Feb. 03, 2021 09:14 PM EST

Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks to reporters after visiting preschool classrooms at Dawes Elementary School in Chicago, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Monday was the first day of optional in-person learning for preschoolers and some special education students in Chicago Public Schools after going remote last March due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP, Pool)
Chicago schools extend talks with union over in-person class

By Sophia Tareen Feb. 01, 2021 08:54 AM EST

FILE - In this Monday, Jan. 11, 2021 file photo, teachers Adrienne Thomas, left, and Irene Barrera, right set up their computers and materials for their virtual classes outside of Suder Montessori Magnet Elementary School in solidarity with pre-K educators forced back into the building in Chicago. The plan to reopen Chicago schools remains in limbo as last-minute negotiations over COVID-19 safety measures with the teachers’ union stretch into Sunday, Jan. 31 and amplify the possibility of a strike. (Anthony Vazquez/Chicago Sun-Times via AP, File)
Chicago schools reopening uncertain as union talks stall

By Sophia Tareen Jan. 31, 2021 02:45 PM EST

FILE - In this Oct. 6, 2020, file photo, Christine Free teaches a remote music class during the coronavirus outbreak at the Osborn School in Rye, N.Y. President Joe Biden says he wants most schools serving kindergarten through eighth grade to reopen by late April 2021. But even if that happens, many schools in urban areas that serve high concentrations of minority students are likely to stay closed. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
Push to reopen schools could leave out millions of students

By Geoff Mulvihill, Adrian Sainz And Michael Kunzelman Jan. 31, 2021 09:23 AM EST

FILE - In this Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, file photo, teachers Adrienne Thomas, left, and Irene Barrera set up their computers and materials for their virtual classes outside of Suder Montessori Magnet Elementary School in solidarity with pre-K educators forced back into the building in Chicago. Chicago teachers ordered to schools this week ahead of students planned to ignore district orders over coronavirus safety concerns, setting the stage for a work stoppage in the nation's third-largest school district, according to a union email circulated Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021. (Anthony Vazquez/Chicago Sun-Times via AP, File)
Chicago schools reopening hits snag as union fight escalates

By Sophia Tareen Jan. 26, 2021 09:20 PM EST

FILE- In this Monday, Jan. 11, 2021 file photo, elementary 1 teacher Melissa Vozar sits outside of Suder Elementary in Chicago to teach a virtual class. The Chicago Teachers Union said Sunday, Jan. 24 that its members voted to defy an order to return to the classroom before they are vaccinated against the coronavirus, setting up a showdown with district officials who have said such a move would amount to an illegal strike. (Anthony Vazquez/Chicago Sun-Times via AP, File)
Chicago teachers vote to teach from home, defying district

By Sophia Tareen Jan. 24, 2021 01:03 PM EST

Seattle special education amid COVID-19 under investigation

Jan. 14, 2021 08:30 AM EST
SEATTLE (AP) — The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights is investigating Seattle Public Schools after “disturbing reports” about how the...

Mayor Lori Lightfoot, left, and Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson, second from left, visit a preschool classroom at Dawes Elementary School in Chicago, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Monday was the first day of optional in-person learning for preschoolers and some special education students in Chicago Public Schools after going remote last March due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP, Pool)
Young Chicago students begin return to classroom learning

By Sophia Tareen Jan. 11, 2021 12:42 PM EST

Some Chicago teachers expected in schools stay home

Jan. 04, 2021 02:18 PM EST
CHICAGO (AP) — Some Chicago Public Schools teachers expected to report to the classroom ahead of preschool students' anticipated return next week stayed home...

Josh Nazzaro participates in school via his laptop from his home in Wharton, N.J., Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020. Without any in-school special education services for months, Nazzaro’s normally sweet demeanor has sometimes given way to aggressive meltdowns that had been under control before the pandemic. The teenager, who has autism and is nonverbal, often wanted no part of his online group speech therapy sessions, and when he did participate, he needed constant hands-on guidance from aides hired by his family. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
School closings threaten gains of students with disabilities

By Carolyn Thompson Dec. 03, 2020 07:12 AM EST

CPS to bring pre-K and special-needs children back to school

Oct. 16, 2020 01:35 PM EDT
CHICAGO (AP) — After seeing a significant drop in the number of pre-kindergarten and special education students enrolled in its online classes, the Chicago...

John Arthur, Utah's Teacher of the Year, hugs his wife, Stacey, in his classroom at Meadowlark Elementary School in Salt Lake City after learning of the award on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020. Now in his eighth year of teaching, Arthur teaches sixth grade at Meadowlark Elementary School, a Title I school in the Salt Lake City School District. It is there that he pays it forward, helping his students learn to advocate for children and immigrants through music videos that they produce together and share on their YouTube channel, 9thEvermore. Arthur’s students have received national recognition for their work. (Steve Griffin/The Deseret News via AP)
Top teacher hopes more equitable system follows pandemic

By Marjorie Cortez Oct. 03, 2020 08:00 AM EDT