Special Needs News

The federal Department of Education (DOE) has rescinded regulations that attempted to shift additional stimulus funds to private schools, which would have shortchanged students with disabilities, advocates contended. 

Traditional vote-by-mail systems are not accessible to the blind and others with conditions that render them “print-disabled.” Disability advocates have filed lawsuits in a number of states, arguing that voters should have the option to request electronic ballots.

But a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report reveals that due to the years-long backlog of appeals, thousands of applicants for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits are dying or going bankrupt while waiting for their cases to be resolved.  

A new executive order from President Trump that would cut half of Social Security’s funding threatens the program’s financial foundation, disability advocates are warning.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is temporarily re-opening an online tool to allow families that do not typically file tax returns to claim a $500-per-child coronavirus stimulus payment. .

A new online calculator guides parents through the estate planning process by assessing the cost of everything their child with special needs is likely to need for the duration of his or her life.

The Trump administration has, for the second time, delayed compliance with new regulations designed to ensure the independence of people receiving services through Medicaid waivers.

Although the up to $1,200 relief payment does not immediately affect eligibility for means-test programs like Medicaid and SSI, if the money is not spent within 12 months it will count as an asset and could affect eligibility.

Blocked in the lower courts, the Trump administration is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to allow states to require certain Medicaid recipients to work in order to maintain eligibility for benefits.

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) living in group homes are four times as likely to contract COVID-19, and nearly twice as likely to die from it, a new study suggests.