Tax Bill, Senate Nominee, and AI & Eye Tracking Screening for Dyslexia in This Week’s AcceliBEAT
December 1, 2017
Post-Thanksgiving, the tax bill passed the House and is making its way through the Senate. This tax bill may slash $1.5 trillion from federal revenue and devastate programs and services that support people with disabilities. In other news, the Senate has set December 5 as the hearing date for Johnny Collett, the former Kentucky special education director nominated to lead the federal office of special education. Finally, the NJ-based Cherry Hill Programs and advocacy organization Autism Speaks have planned 375 sensory-friendly Santa events at malls nationwide this year to accommodate specific needs so that all children can experience meeting Santa. All this and more in this week’s AcceliBEAT!
Tax Bill May Threaten Disability Services
A Republican proposal to overhaul the tax code could endanger everything from employment services to health care for people with disabilities, advocates say. More than a dozen disability advocacy groups are working furiously to block the legislation.
Senate Sets Hearing Date for Nominee to Federal Special Education Post
The Senate has set Dec. 5 as the hearing date on the nomination of Johnny Collett, a former special education director for Kentucky, who was selected by the Trump administration to lead the federal office of special education and rehabilitative services.
Sensory-Friendly Santa Welcomes Kids With Special Needs
Hours before Woodfield Mall opened on a recent Sunday morning, before workers turned on the holiday lights and the halls filled with shoppers, 4-year-old Liam Munnelly’s parents placed him on Santa’s lap. Though Liam couldn’t talk back, Santa spoke to him, pointing at the decorations overhead.
Research Shows Disparity in K12 Special Needs Reporting
How do districts define and identify their special needs students? And how does that compare with the way it is done in other districts and states? Moreover, do these students receive the help they need? A new report sets out to answer these questions.
Fearful That They Will Be Seen as ‘Lazy’ or ‘Unintelligent,’ Most College Students With Disabilities Don’t Seek Accommodation
Only one in four students with learning disabilities disclose their disabilities to their colleges, leaving them without access to critical accommodations and putting them at greater risk of leaving school without a degree. Can new legislation change this reality?
CDC Says Developmental Disabilities Are on the Rise
An increasing number of American children have developmental disabilities, the federal government says, even as autism and intellectual disability rates remain largely steady.
How AI and Eye Tracking Could Soon Help Schools Screen for Dyslexia
In an era of breakneck change and tech innovation, evaluating dyslexia in young students looks much the same today as it has in the past. New technology aims to use AI and eye tracking in place of paper to better screen for dyslexia.
HHS Audit Says New Jersey Must Pay Back Hundreds of Millions in Medicaid Funds
New Jersey wrongly billed Medicaid for more than $300 million worth of services that the state provided to students with disabilities between 2003 and 2015, and it needs to pay that money back, says a federal audit released Tuesday from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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