Author: Jonaki Mehta

The Department of Education building in Washington, D.C. Robert Knopes/Education Times via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Robert Knopes/Education Times via Getty Images Catch up on what you missed with our Education newsletter, sent weekly. Kelly Rogers told employees Wednesday that she is resigning from her post overseeing special education at the U.S. Education Department as the agency is in the midst of upheaval and downsizing. Rogers, who has been overseeing the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) since May, announced her departure less than a day before much of her staff were scheduled to move to…

Gerald Gomez-Reina high-fives new kindergartener Ian Patterson after they track down his cubby just before the first day of school at Micheltorena Street Elementary in Los Angeles. Julie Leopo for NPR hide caption toggle caption Julie Leopo for NPR Catch up on what you missed with our Education newsletter, sent weekly. It’s Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer — and the beginning of another school year. From coast to coast, about 54 million students are returning to classrooms — some familiar, some entirely new. Every school marks the first day in its own way. Reporters from NPR and its…

Catch up on what you missed with our Education newsletter, sent weekly. A massive trove of data about the civil rights of American students was quietly published on the U.S. Education Department’s website this week. The Civil Rights Data Collection includes information about which groups of students are being bullied, which students across the country can access Advanced Placement classes and how students with disabilities are treated at school, among other things. The CRDC was supposed to be published at the end of last year, according to the agency’s own deadline. The data, from nearly every public school in the…

Kaleigh and Cody Brendle spend time together at their parents’ New Jersey home before Kaleigh’s move across the country for law school. They say they have helped each other navigate life as two blind people. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption toggle caption Claire Harbage/NPR Catch up on what you missed with our Education newsletter, sent weekly. BRICK, N.J. — Cody and Kaleigh Brendle grew up near the Jersey Shore, going out on their grandfather’s boat on weekends, learning to swim and riding bikes together. “I was the annoying little sister — like, ‘Wait for me, wait for me!'” said Kaleigh. She…

A federal judge in Boston has dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit that claimed Harvard University did not do enough to protect students on campus from antisemitism. Jonaki Mehta 2026-08-14 10:47:14 Source link

For more than 50 years, the Education Department has revealed a host of realities about how students are being treated in every public school across America: which kids are being bullied, which ones are being harassed and which students can access the internet, among other things. The agency’s Civil Rights Data Collection is intended to do just that — help keep schools accountable. The latest information, collected about the 2023-24 school year, was supposed to be published last December, according to the Education Department’s own deadline. But it hasn’t been. The agency hasn’t responded to multiple requests from NPR asking…

The Education Department plans to shift oversight of special education to another agency, alarming many disability rights advocates. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images Catch up on what you missed with our Education newsletter, sent weekly. In a call with disability rights advocates Thursday, officials from the U.S. Department of Education tried to ease concerns about plans to move the agency’s special education offices to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The effort seemed to fail. “Today’s briefing left more questions than answers for parents and educators,” says Chad Rummel, who leads the Council…

Education Secretary Linda McMahon is at the center of the Trump administration’s work to dismantle the agency she runs, the U.S. Department of Education. Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images Two of the U.S. Department of Education’s biggest responsibilities will shift to other federal agencies: safeguarding student civil rights and administering programs for students with disabilities. The Trump administration said Tuesday it will move much of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). OSERS manages programs that support students with…

The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia offers guided tactile tours aimed at blind and low vision visitors in a gallery called Signers’ Hall. Museum educator Sydney Wharton traces visitor Tim Kelly’s Jr. hands over the statue of Benjamin Franklin as she leads him and his father, Tim Kelly Sr., through the gallery. Rachel Wisniewski for NPR hide caption toggle caption Rachel Wisniewski for NPR Press the “Listen” button below to hear the story text, read by reporter Jonaki Mehta. PHILADELPHIA — About a dozen visitors pause at the entrance to a gallery filled with statues of 42 men who had…

Ninth grader Soraya Martin, left, has dyslexia, but using her cellphone and other technologies allow her to excel at school. Her mother, Heather Martin, says students with disabilities aren’t always being considered when it comes to school screen bans. Jonaki Mehta/NPR hide caption toggle caption Jonaki Mehta/NPR CONCORD, Calif. — Ninth grader Soraya Martin is a bubbly, social teenager who recently found a new passion. “I’m a very creative writer, I love to write stories for fun,” she says. Stories come naturally to Soraya, but reading and writing don’t. That’s because she has dyslexia. “Academically, school has always been a…