Sunday, March 19, 2017

Reasons for Optimism. No, Really.

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Sometimes you just need someone to tell you everything's going to be okay. That's why I just read (and loved) Ruy Teixeira's T...
Friday, March 17, 2017

Who's the Most Heartless of These Heartless Bastards?

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During the campaign, Donald Trump offered a populist message that resonated with just enough people to get him elected. He promised he would...
Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Medicaid Cuts: "A War on Disabled People"

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For families affected by disabilities, the threat to Medicaid is one of the greatest concerns about the proposed American Health Care Act....

Proposed Health Changes "Would Fail My Disabled Brother"

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Please read and share stories like this.  Writing in the Denver Post this week, Alyssa Roberts expressed concern about how severe cuts to M...
Wednesday, March 8, 2017

When is School Choice Not Really a Choice? Insights from the National Association of State Directors of Special Education

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This morning I attended a panel discussion at the Center for American Progress called "What's at Stake for Americans with Disabil...

Is Vaccine Debate Diverting Attention from the Real Risks to People with Autism?

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When you hear "Trump" and "autism," you may first think about the president's support for debunked myths that vacc...

New Analysis: 5 Ways Trump Agenda is Disastrous for People with Disabilities

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More than 15 million people with disabilities, including children and seniors, would be at risk under the Medicaid cuts proposed by House Re...

SHARE THIS VIDEO: How Medicaid Cuts will Harm People with Disabilities

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Just released today, this video by the Center for American Progress shows three perspectives on how proposed cuts to Medicaid will threaten...
Tuesday, March 7, 2017

As Budget Cuts Loom, No One's in Charge of Special Education

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Christina Samuels, who writes the "On Special Education" blog for Education Week , continues her good reporting on issues relate...
Sunday, March 5, 2017

Vouchers and Special Education: A Primer

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Thanks to Education Week for this graphic illustration of how special education money gets to local schools. A s Secretary Betsy DeVos...
Thursday, March 2, 2017

Reaction from Guest at Congressional Address: "We all left feeling expendable and disposable."

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Jeannine Chartier, Executive and Artistic Director, VSA Arts Rhode Island Jeannine Chartier had a unique vantage point for President Tr...
Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Likely Winners and Losers in Trump Budget Proposal

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You can read a detailed budget analysis in many places, including this one from Ronald Brownstein in The Atlantic (one of my favorite sou...

The Key to Ensuring Disability Rights? It May Be the Courts

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I've shared a discouraging prediction with several friends: I think it's unlikely that the rights, treatment, and support for people...

Disability/Arts Advocate Invited to Joint Session of Congress

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When President Trump gives his first address to Congress tonight, at least one person in the audience will be listening for assurance that h...
Monday, February 27, 2017

Secretary DeVos: Don't Forget About Civil Rights

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Like many civil rights advocates, Derek Black, a law professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law, predicts that the Trump ...
Thursday, February 23, 2017

Op-ed: "Disabled, Shunned, and Silenced in Trump's America"

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Writing in the New York Times , Melissa Blake, a journalist with Freeman-Sheldon syndrome, says she felt like "I'd just been pu...
Thursday, February 16, 2017

BREAKING: Update on IDEA Website

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Today I was interviewed by Emma Brown, the Washington Post reporter who covered the missing Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (I...
Sunday, February 12, 2017

Betsy DeVos, You've Got Mail. Pressure to Restore IDEA Website Intensifies as Senators Demand Accountability

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Thanks to activists and concerned citizens like you, Secretary Betsy DeVos is feeling real pressure to restore the IDEA website. This m...

Medicaid Cuts a "Prescription to Hurt the Neediest Kids"

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Proposed cuts to Medicaid will significantly harm students with disabilities, according to a national survey of school superintendents. A ...
Thursday, February 9, 2017

More on the IDEA Website: What's There (not much), What's Not (a lot)

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The Department of Education took a baby step in restoring information about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), but many...

IDEA Website is Back (sort of); Dept. of Education "Functioning Under the Same Laws"

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"Please know that OSEP is here, functioning under the same laws, and happy to answer calls and emails about our work whenever possible...
Wednesday, February 8, 2017

The IDEA Website Down: Tell the Education Department You Care (UPDATED)

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This morning, when Betsy DeVos started her job as Secretary of Education, many people noticed that  an entire section of the department...
Tuesday, February 7, 2017

She's Your Education Secretary. Now What?

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Reposting a message from my Facebook page. Now the work begins. I'm seeing so many friends expressing surprise/shock that the Senat...
Friday, January 27, 2017

Opposition Grows on DeVos Nomination: Add Your Voice!

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The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions is scheduled to vote on the nomination of Betsy DeVos to be Secretary of Educa...
Tuesday, January 24, 2017

LA Times: "Betsy DeVos Embarrassed Herself and Should Be Rejected by the Senate"

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In a strongly worded editorial, the Los Angeles Times says Betsy DeVos, President Trump's nominee for U.S. Secretary of Education ...