An NPR investigation has found that hundreds of thousands of potentially eligible student loan borrowers with significant, permanent disabilities have yet to receive the relief they’re entitled to by federal law. The investigation also found that the Education Department significantly inflated the number of loans it had discharged in a report to Congress.
Red Clay Consolidated School District staff will be receiving training from ACLU of Delaware and several other organizations to reduce disproportionate suspension rates among students of color and students with disabilities. District Equity Officer Tawanda Bond says the trainings will likely focus on shifting from “exclusionary” discipline in favor of “restorative practice,” which prompts educators to consider possible trauma, implicit bias and other factors in addressing student behavior.
Harvard University agreed to provide captions and transcriptions to its online videos, courses and podcasts to resolve a lawsuit brought by the National Association of the Deaf. Earlier in the case, the judge had ruled that a college’s online offerings constitute public accommodations and are therefore legally required to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
CDS Community Advisory Council member and Governor’s Advisory Council for Exceptional Citizens Executive Director Wendy Strauss and co-author write that school outreach to parents of students with disabilities via parent councils can lead to “better education and services for children, and a reduction in friction between parents and schools.”
Former Del. Attorney General Matt Denn, Rep. Deb Heffernan and Sen. Nicole Poore urge school districts to invest effort in organizing parent councils to connect parents of students with disabilities to one another. They write that parents have often said interaction with other parents is extremely valuable but opportunities are limited.
