October 3, 2025
The Boost News
SPOTLIGHT: GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
Senate GOP leaders are expected to call for another vote today, Friday, on the House-passed stopgap bill that funds federal agencies through Nov. 21, NPR reports, with leaders still discussing plans for possible weekend votes.
“‘Programs like Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security will continue to be funded because they are mandatory programs. But the vast majority of disability programs, including all of those funded by the Administration for Community Living, are discretionary programs that would be impacted by a shutdown,’” Alison Barkoff, who led the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living under the Biden administration, told Disability Scoop.
Jill Jacobs, exec director of the Natl. Assn. of Councils on Developmental Disabilities, also spoke to the news site, saying, “The president’s threat to fire additional federal workers … only increases the insecurity faced by people with disabilities who rely on these staff to administer the annual appropriations for disability programs such as the state councils on developmental disabilities.”
Chalkbeat’s daily National Newsletter notes that in the education world, “a lot will continue as usual — at least for now. … But 87% of the Education Department’s staff are on furlough, which means programs won’t be monitored and states and schools generally won’t get answers to their questions during the shutdown. The Office for Civil rights is pausing all reviews and investigations of civil rights complaints.”
More:
Federal Government Shutdown: What People with Disabilities Should Know (The Arc)
STATE NEWS
New N.Y. task force looking at options for older individuals with developmental disabilities (Spectrum News)
NYS’s Gov. Hochul Announces $25 Million to Expand Access to Health Care for People With Developmental Disabilities (Gov. Press Office)
Changes to developmental disabilities assessment mean AZ families will lose caregiving funds (KJZZ)
Kansas disability service providers say conflict of interest rule could cause ‘massive’ problems Kansas is out of compliance with the rule and stands to lose $350 to $400 million in federal funding if changes aren’t made. (Kansas Reflector)
MEDICAID
5 Key Facts About Medicaid Coverage for People With I/DD Just a good overview. (KFF)
Federal report on Georgia suggests implementing Medicaid work rules will be expensive Georgia spent twice as much to administer the country’s only Medicaid program with work requirements than it did to provide health care to enrollees. (Stateline.org)
How Calif. families are already bracing for looming Medicaid cuts The spotlight here goes to one family scrambling to figure out how to care for a child with cerebral palsy should his benefits go away, but it’s also a good look at the broader issues. (Los Angeles Times)
AUTISM
Should the Autism Spectrum Be Split Apart? The diagnostic expansion of autism has become a flashpoint in a long-running debate over how autism should be defined. (New York Times)
Why it’s time to rethink the notion of an autism ‘spectrum’ A look at research suggesting the American Psychiatric Assn.’s diagnostic manual dividing autism into three “levels” are vague and inconsistently applied. (The Conversation)
Tylenol, Autism and the Perils of Basic-Level Literacy When most Americans lack the reading skills to judge competing claims in critical debates, they are at the mercy of others. (The 74 Million)
EDUCATION
Ed Dept takes a preliminary step toward revamping its research and statistics arm (Hechinger Report)
Only 18 states differentiate compensation for special ed teachers (K-12 Dive)
Ed Dept. brings back mental health grants Some are concerned the focus is only on school psychologists and does not include school counselors and social workers. (K-12 Dive)
School systems are remaking the old yellow bus into a high-tech machine FYI, research suggests that students with disabilities are disproportionately affected by school bus delays. (Stateline.org)
What schools stand to lose in the battle over the next federal ed budget Congress and the White House have released three competing funding visions for fiscal year 2026. Researchers warn that two of those proposals — from the White House and House Republicans — would impose steep cuts on some of the most vulnerable students and disadvantaged school communities. (NPR)
HCBS
Report: Home care industry to face 6.1M job openings by 2034 as low wages fuel turnover Home care workers earn an average annual income of $22,429, with 60% receiving public assistance. Medicaid payments constitute 68% of the $312.9 billion spent on HCBS annually. (Home Health Care News)
TRAVEL
US will not enforce Biden wheelchair passenger protection rule The U.S. Transportation Dept, said it will not enforce key provisions of a rule issued by former President Biden’s administration. (Reuters)
SIGNALS
Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade says comment about killing mentally ill homeless people an ‘extremely callous remark’ Increasingly, those on the far right feel empowered to denigrate and “other” the vulnerable. (CNN)
LOVE TO SEE IT
Special ed teacher empowers students with coffee carts (WTNH)