September 2026 Policy News Round-Up
In September, NCLD’s role as a lead plaintiff in NCLD v. OMB prompted the release of education research funds. NCLD endorsed four new pieces of legislation, responded to regulatory and other actions by the Administration, and won an Eddie Award for “best collaboration” on a literacy bill.
NCLD Lawsuit Results in the Release of Millions of Education Research Funds
On June 30, 2026 Protect Democracy, with the Jacobson Lawyers Group PLLC, filed a lawsuit on behalf of the National Center for Learning Disabilities, Massachusetts Teachers Association, and other stakeholders challenging actions by the Trump Administration that have prevented hundreds of millions of dollars appropriated by Congress for education research, statistics, and school-support programs from being made available as required by law. Following the recent court ruling in our litigation, the U.S. Department of Education has confirmed that nearly all of the previously unavailable funding for the Institute of Education Sciences and Comprehensive Centers has now been released ahead of the September 30 deadline. This is an important outcome for students with disabilities, families, educators, schools, and researchers who rely on strong education research, data, and technical assistance. But as NCLD CEO Dr. Jacqueline Rodriguez makes clear, this should not have come down to the final days of the fiscal year. Federal research agencies need enough time to run grant competitions, review applications, and make awards so these dollars can support meaningful research. Protecting the funding matters. Protecting the process that makes that funding meaningful matters, too. Our litigation is not over, and additional claims remain pending.
The Science of Reading Act Passes the House
The House of Representatives passed the bipartisan Science of Reading Act (H.R. 7890), which strengthens federally funded literacy instruction by prioritizing evidence-based methods aligned with the science of reading. The legislation emphasizes core components of systematic reading instruction including phenomic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing, which is shown to be more effective than approaches that rely on students to infer word patterns or use context clues. This practice benefits all students, but especially those with reading disabilities such as dyslexia, who find more success in word recognition and reading fluency with the structured support of the science of reading. The Senate HELP Committee passed the READ Act over the summer, therefore bicameral conference efforts around literacy reform will occur based on those two bills.
Treasury Release Federal Tax Credit Program Proposed Regulations
On October 1st, the U.S. Department of Treasury released both an interim final rule and proposed regulations for implementing the new federal tax credit program. The regulations will prohibit states from directing that funds be used exclusively for public schools and students, meaning that states who opt in to the program will allow “scholarship” funds to flow to private schools. No civil rights or anti-discrimination protections would apply in those private school settings. In addition, states will not be permitted to impose additional requirements on scholarship granting organizations. A 2-page fact sheet from the National Coalition for Public Education on the proposed regulations is here. NCLD joined four other disability and special education advocacy organizations in condemning the proposed rules for undermining disability rights. In it, NCLD’s CEO stated:
“It is especially disappointing that the Treasury Department did not address the concerns NCLD and other disability organizations raised about protections for students with disabilities,” says Dr. Jacqueline Rodriguez, CEO of the National Center for Learning Disabilities. “Further, there will be a gaping hole of transparency and oversight that will allow discrimination to go unseen. We urge governors to opt out of this program.”
Both the interim final and proposed rule are open for comment until December.
ED Publishes Civil RIghts Data Collection
After months of delays, the U.S. Department of Education released the 2023-2024 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), a dataset that provides important information about equity in student experiences. A first look analysis from OCR was also published, but it lacks detailed public-facing analyses that was included with recent publications.
CRDC is often used as a tool for advocates to track disparities in issues like school discipline, access to advanced coursework, bullying, and other indicators of educational opportunity.
NCLD Endorses Newly Introduced Legislation
Members of Congress introduced a number of bills this month that NCLD supported. Click the links below to learn more about these pieces of legislation.
- The Protecting Our Students in Schools Act, introduced in the Senate by the lead sponsor Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), prohibits corporal punishment in any school that receives federal funding. A House counterpart bill was previously introduced by Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR).
- The Quality Educator Partnership Act, introduced by Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC) makes investments in the educator workforce, including building the federal infrastructure and strengthening data collection and accountability.
- The Transforming Education for the Future Act, introduced by Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), packages a lot of policy changes that NCLD supports, including fully funding IDEA, repealing the new federal tax credit voucher program, investing in literacy and screening initiatives, and more.
- The Higher Education Grant Flexibility Act, introduced by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), would enable students who take less credits in college as an approved disability accommodation to still qualify for federal financial aid. NCLD Young Adult Leadership Council Alumni Kayla Helm discussed the importance of this policy in a 2025 memo.
Education Department Proposes Harmful Federal Grant Regulations
The U.S. Department of Education recently proposed sweeping revisions to the Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR), regulations that govern most federal education grants. Concerningly, the Department’s plan gives the Secretary of Education express authority to terminate a discretionary grant “for convenience,” with no requirement to show cause related to a grantee’s performance or compliance. In a letter signed by NCLD and others, we express that “this proposal would unnecessarily continue this administration’s practice
of destabilizing the federal grantmaking process. It would politicize federal education funding
while injecting uncertainty and reducing transparency in the process.” The proposed revisions also would remove references to “underserved populations” and strike “civil rights organizations” from the list of community voices that grant applicants are required to engage. Read NCLD and others’ opposition to these changes here and here.
Advocacy Opportunities
- The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is gathering information from the public, including parents, students, and educators, on experiences with screen-based instruction, parental opt-out, and school internet safety policies. See here on how to file a comment by 10/13.
- Our partner at the National Center for Youth Law has new model legislation for states, the Students’ Civil Rights Act, to help states protect students from discrimination and build the authority to enforce their rights, including disability rights and protections.
- NCLD’s Action Center enables you to contact your Members of Congress and make your voice heard on issues important to students with disabilities. Bills like the RISE Act and 21st Century Dyslexia Act that passed the Senate HELP committee in the summer may be considered by the full Senate soon. Use those action alerts to reach out to your Members of Congress to let them know how those bills impact students with LD.
ICYMI
- NCLD CEO Participates in Senate Spotlight Forum on Vouchers
- NCLD and partners won an Eddie Award from the PIE Network for “Best Collaboration” for work on the READ Act
- Special education head at Education Department abruptly resigns | NPR
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