Policy & Advocacy | March 4, 2025

February Policy News Round-Up

Congress held a confirmation hearing for the Secretary of Education nominee, canceled federal research grants, and legislative wins were made at the state level. Learn what NCLD was up to in February.

Senate Holds Hearing for Secretary of Education Nominee Linda McMahon

On February 13, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing on the nomination of Linda McMahon to be Secretary of Education. In the hearing, members of both parties looked for assurances that McMahon would work with Congress, while a significant portion of the hearing focused on the Trump Administration’s expressed plans to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education (USED). While McMahon acknowledged that USED could not formally close without Congressional action, it was clear that she intends to significantly scale back the department’s operations and take steps to reduce USED’s impact.

McMahon also demonstrated a troubling lack of understanding of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and other important factors impacting the education of students with disabilities.NCLD reshared its statement highlighting these concerns and seeking clarification on McMahon’s statements.

Federal Education Research Grants Face Significant Cuts

On February 10, the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) abruptly ended 89 education research contracts. IES is the research branch of the U.S. Department of Education and is set up as an independent and apolitical office. The contracts were valued at approximately $900 million in taxpayer dollars and were for federally funded research projects under grants that had already been approved by Congress. The sudden cancellation of these projects could seriously harm the progress of special education research and have an impact on students nationwide. Federal investment in educational research has been crucial in improving outcomes for students with disabilities, driving the development and implementation of evidence-based practices that impacts every learner. Over the years, innovations in special education research have served as an impetus for improvements in general education. For example, multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) were developed by special education researchers to address the needs of students with and without disabilities in the same classroom and have become an integral part of classrooms nationwide.

Research investments like those cut by IES expand access to effective instruction and equip educators with tools to support every learner. NCLD released a statement responding to these cuts, acknowledging that cutting this funding and dismantling IES not only stalls progress but potentially reverses it and widens opportunity gaps for our most vulnerable students.

NextGen: Policy Acceleration Initiative

The NextGen: Policy Acceleration Initiative is a groundbreaking effort designed to empower emerging leaders in the learning disabilities (LD) community to shape policy solutions that drive systemic change. Selected alumni from NCLD’s Young Adult Leadership Council—leaders with lived experience and a deep commitment to disability advocacy—have developed bold, actionable policy proposals to address critical challenges in LD identification, transition to post-high school life, higher education accessibility, and employment. Their work reflects a unique blend of personal insight and policy expertise, ensuring that the recommendations put forth are not only necessary but also deeply informed by the realities faced by neurodivergent individuals.

Major Lawsuit Texas v. Becerra Poses a Threat to Disability Rights

A group of seventeen states have sued the U.S. Government to eliminate Section 504, which protects individuals with disabilities from discrimination by the federal government or federally-funded programs. The states take issue with some of the recently updated Section 504 rules, but the lawsuit asks to get rid of Section 504 altogether, not just the parts that the states disagree with. A “Joint Status Report” by the 17 states and the U.S. Department of Justice was filed on February 19th, which did not make any changes to the case or the complaint, but marked another step in the case’s progress. For more information and resources for taking action, see the guidance published by DREDF.

State Spotlight: RISE Act Passed in Virginia, Introduced in Colorado & Massachusetts

This month, we saw several wins at the state level to advance Respond, Innovate, Succeed, and Empower (RISE) Act legislation. NCLD has historically advocated for a federal version of the RISE Act, requiring colleges and universities to accept a student’s IEP or 504 plan as sufficient proof of a disability when seeking accommodations. This legislation would make accommodations in college more accessible and help students with disabilities succeed in higher education. While we continue to work on federal RISE legislation, several states have worked on their own version of the RISE act in state legislatures.

This month, Virginia became the fourth state to pass a version of the RISE Act in the state legislature. In Colorado, RISE legislation has been approved by the Senate Higher Education Committee and is moving to the floor, and in Massachusetts, it has been formally introduced. If you live in Colorado or Massachusetts and are interested in helping support advocacy efforts or introducing the RISE Act in your state, please contact jsnydman@ncld.org.