January 8, 2026
The Boost News
SPOTLIGHT: 2026
Trump’s ‘beautiful’ new law means states have big decisions this year on Medicaid, SNAP and taxes (AP)
Five Key Disability Stories to Watch in 2026 (Disabled Journalists Association)
Disability Justice Organizers Are Creating the Liberatory Future We All Deserve Disability justice advocates and organizers from across the U.S. explain what’s at stake for disabled people under Trump. (truthout)
STATE NEWS
New York school board investigates wooden ‘timeout’ box allegations They allegedly were built and used to seclude children with disabilities. (The Guardian)
New York State launches Center for Dyslexia and Dysgraphia (lohud)
Why are Connecticut’s new slots for autism services empty? (CT Public)
Florida deputies stop woman in alleged plan to kill herself, disabled great-granddaughter Just a heartbreaker of a story. (CBS 12)
Georgia agency proposes changes to waiting list for services for people with disabilities Program aimed at helping individuals with I/DD gain access to home care may get a refresh in 2026. (Georgia Recorder)
New state law expands insurance coverage for Iowans with autism (KCCI)
New Hampshire state senators to file legislation addressing abuse and neglect in disability care system (Valley News)
Taxpayers foot skyrocketing salaries for N.J. group home execs rolling in dough (nj.com)
Keith’s Law in Ohio to help people with disabilities communicate with first responders (New Day Cleveland)
Disability organization finds Tennessee failures in housing, access to healthcare (Times News)
High school diploma cost Washington special ed student future access, family says (Seattle Times)
MEDICAID
What Medicaid changes in Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ mean for family caregivers’ health coverage (CNBC)
Policy relief for family caregivers seems stalled out. But there are signs of change (NPR)
SPECIAL EDUCATION
Ed Department Pushing Ahead With Plan To Offload Special Education Secretary of Education Linda McMahon told disability advocates in December she’s committed to proceeding with plans to move oversight to another federal agency. (Disability Scoop)
Head Start centers told to avoid ‘disability,’ ‘women’ and more in funding requests (NPR)
Tracking the Supreme Court’s impact on K-12 schools (K-12 Dive)
Case Studies
PPS is sending special education students rock climbing to remedy learning loss (Pittsburgh NPR)
Transformational Magic: NYC’s iHOPE School Unlocks Learning for Profoundly Disabled Kids (The 74)
AUTISM
Tests for Autism? Companies Are Selling Them, but Research Is Still Scant (New York Times)
HEALTH
In utero COVID exposure linked to brain changes, developmental delays, anxiety, and depression (Univ. of Minnesota)
Brain organoids are helping researchers, but their use also creates unease Research on conditions like autism and schizophrenia increasingly relies on clusters of human cells called brain organoids. (NPR)
LAW
Disability Rights Lawyers Threatened With Budget Cuts, Reassignments Most work for the Dept. of Justice or disability rights agencies that Congress set up in every state decades ago. Trump proposed cutting the system’s federal funding from $148 million to $69 million for fiscal year 2026. (KFF Health News)
SUPREME COURT
When Is it Okay to Kill the Disabled? The U.S. Supreme Court is in the process of determining how states can decide who is intellectually disabled enough to be exempt from receiving the death penalty. (The Progressive)
TECHNOLOGY
Mayo Clinic smartwatch system helps parents shorten and defuse children’s severe tantrums early (Mayo Clinic)
ESSAYS
I Learned to Walk Because of IDEA. Millions of Children Still Depend on It (Time Magazine)
Raising Children With Disabilities Is Hard Work. Why Did Idaho Abandon Parents Like Me? (Rewire)