Special Education Update: U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee Affirms Commitment to Special Education Funding for Fiscal Year 2026

Special Education Update: U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee Affirms Commitment to Special Education Funding for Fiscal Year 2026

by | Sep 4, 2025 | Special Education

The Senate Appropriations Committee (the “Committee”) advanced a funding bill for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 that recommends a slight increase in funding for the United States Department of Education, and maintains or provides slight increases for other educational funding areas, despite calls for cuts by White House officials. The bill proposes to allocate just over $1.7 trillion, including $197 billion in discretionary funding for labor, Health and Human services, and education funding. More specifically, the bill proposes funding of just over $19 billion to the Department of Education with $18.5 billion of that going to Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies. The bill also allocates $5.78 billion to School Improvement Programs and $1.18 billion to Innovation and Improvement in Education.

Most importantly, the bill proposes slight increases in the funding for special education. It proposes to allocate $15.5 billion to special education and $4.6 billion to rehabilitation services, which are both slight increases from 2025. The bill also explicitly names and funds each Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) program within the Department of Education, including $15.2 billion for IDEA State Grants. Also, within this bill is a potential $1.5 billion allocation for Career Technical Education.

The Committee passed the bill by a vote of 26-3, which indicates that there is a good foundation of support and bodes well for the larger vote as the bill advances. Also, while this is a good show in support of special education from the Senate Appropriations Committee, the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee has yet to release their proposed funding for education for FY 2026.

What does this mean for your district? At this point, the this bill is only an indicator of what the final FY 2026 budget might look like. While it is promising to see the Senate Appropriations Committee proposing to maintain or increase Department of Education funding, the result could be quite different from what Congress ultimately passes.

 

 

 

Frequent Flyer Miles Fair Game for Public Officials in Ohio

Frequent Flyer Miles Fair Game for Public Officials in Ohio

by | Sep 4, 2025 | Board Policy & Representation, General

On August 4, 2025 the Ohio Ethics Commission (OEC) issued an opinion stating that public officials or employees could use frequent flyer miles and other rewards earned during official business for their own personal use. The entire opinion may be found here: Adv. Op. No. 2025-02.  

In prior opinions, the personal use of frequent flyer miles while permitting public officials to use credit card points and hotel rewards was restricted. The revised interpretation will bring Ohio in line with similar federal guidance. All rewards programs will now be treated the same by the OEC. The Commission expressed its hope that the new interpretation will clear up confusion for public agencies and reduce administrative burdens associated with enforcing the rule.

Under the revised standard, Ohio public officials or employees may use frequent flyer miles, credit card rewards, hotel points, or other rewards earned while on official business in their personal life, provided that:

  1. The rewards are earned in the same way as members of the public would have earned them; and
  2. The rewards do not impose additional costs on the public agency.

However, a public official or employee is still prohibited from choosing an airline, vendor, a conference, event, or service based on whether it provides frequent flyer miles or other rewards points.

Under Ohio’s conflict of interest laws, public officials are prohibited from soliciting, accepting, or using their authority or influence to secure any financial benefit for themselves. R.C. 102.03(D) and (E). While frequent flyer miles constitute a “thing of value” for Ohio ethics law purposes, the OEC does not believe the value is significant enough to impair the public official’s independent judgment. Because the frequent flyer miles are broadly available to all passengers, are uniformly accrued, and are not being offered to officials for performing their official duties, the OEC maintains that the programs do not create a “substantial and improper influence” upon the public official’s judgment.

Similarly, public officials may not have an interest in the profits or benefits of a public contract, and the public agency’s purchase of a flight would be a public contract. R.C. 2921.42(A)(4). Public officials would have an interest in the contract with the airline based on the frequent flyer miles they are receiving, but the OEC points out that the benefit is relatively small and that it would be more administratively efficient to allow officials to use these programs compared to the cost of preventive measures. To minimize the risk to the public, the OEC’s new position still prohibits public officials from selecting a specific airline based on the frequent flyer miles they would receive from the flight.

What does this mean for your district? School board members and district employees may now keep and personally use frequent flyer miles earned during official travel, and Ohio law no longer differentiates between airline miles and other rewards programs such as credit card or hotel points. However, public officials and employees are still limited in the selection process, as the Commission specifically notes that vendors may not be selected based on the rewards provided, and there must be no additional costs imposed on the district.

 

 

 

Career Tech Corner: Immigration Enforcement Comes for Adult Education Programs

Career Tech Corner: Immigration Enforcement Comes for Adult Education Programs

by | Sep 4, 2025 | General, School Management

On July 10, 2025 the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced it would end the “subsidization of illegal aliens in career, technical, and adult education programs.” The new Notice of Interpretation applies to all CTE programs under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V) which provides over a billion dollars annually to programs across the country.

By rescinding a 1997 Dear Colleague Letter, the ED argued that career, technical, and adult education programs were subject to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) which limits eligibility for federal public benefits to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and qualified aliens. The PRWORA defines “federal public benefits” to include “postsecondary education…or any similar benefits for which payments or assistance are provided.”

The Notice of Interpretation states that non-qualified alien adults are not permitted to receive education benefits and non-qualified alien children are not eligible to receive postsecondary education benefits, which includes dual enrollment and other early college programs that provide students the opportunity to earn college credits such as College Credit Plus (CCP).

The ED maintains that this decision is in line with the Supreme Court’s decision in Plyler v. Doe, which established that states cannot deny undocumented children access to a public K-12 education. Congress has since codified the Plyler ruling in the PRWORA, expressly exempting basic public education benefits from the act. But the Department “does not interpret Plyler as conferring any rights to adults. Nor does the holding in Plyler reach the question as to whether a minor has the right to postsecondary education,” and the ED has taken the position that anything beyond basic public education benefits received by children may be denied to undocumented students.

What this means for schools. Allowing non-citizen students to enroll could jeopardize receipt of federal funds. The ED has stated that letters will be sent to all Perkins V grantees discussing eligibility verification. However, enforcement has been paused through September 10, 2025 as part of an ongoing lawsuit. At that point, CTCs will be obligated verify the citizenship status of students in their programs. Plyler does not entirely insulate traditional secondary schools from these requirements. In many cases, enforcement can be left to institutions of higher education, but districts may want to warn students interested in enrolling in CCP programs of the new verification requirements in case their immigration status might impact their ability to enroll in the programs under the new interpretation.