October 23, 2025
The Boost News
SPOTLIGHT: SNAP
At least 25 states plan to cut off SNAP in November They include California, Arkansas, Hawaii, Indiana, Mississippi and New Jersey. The Trump administration reportedly would have to find more than $8 billion to keep SNAP afloat if the shutdown continues. (Politico)
SNAP recipients told to buy shelf-stable food or go to food banks as funding deadline looms The recommendation comes from some state leaders. But food banks say it will be impossible to fill the gap. (NBC News)
‘Uncharted territory’: Ongoing shutdown threatens food aid for 42 million people “If the SNAP program shuts down, we will have the most mass hunger suffering we’ve had in America since the Great Depression.” (NPR)
The Trump Administration Has the Power and Legal Obligation To Pay SNAP Benefits During the Shutdown (Center for American Progress)
SPECIAL EDUCATION
How Will Ed Dept’s Latest Layoffs Affect Students With Disabilities? A look at what the consequences would be across colleges and universities should the gutting of the Education Department go ahead. (Inside Higher Ed)
OPINION: ‘Educational Exile’: How Trump’s Layoffs Threaten Students With Disabilities What’s at stake if we lose federal enforcement of IDEA. (Education Week)
Ed Dept. ‘exploring’ ways to move special education elsewhere While no official plan is in place yet, Education Secretary Linda McMahon’s goal is to shut down the department. (K-12 Dive)
Is RFK Jr. about to get the special ed portfolio? Trump admin mulls a change The Dept. of Ed is in the early stages of recruiting another agency to help oversee federal special education programs. (USA Today)
OPINION: Ed Tech Can Unlock STEM Potential of Students With Disabilities — If It’s Funded The National Assessment of Educational Progress — better known as the nation’s report card — recently released 2024 science scores for eighth graders and math scores for 12th graders. It found that three-quarters of students with disabilities scored below NAEP basic, the lowest-performing subgroup. (The 74)
STATES
N.Y. state Sen. James Skoufis discusses investigation into CDPAP transition Skoufis and state Sen. Gustavo Rivera push for more information regarding how Public Partnerships LLC was chosen as the single fiscal intermediary for New York’s CDPAP program. (Spectrum Local News)
Center for Disability Services New York dropping psychiatry services Psychiatrists are retiring and it’s difficult to find ones trained in developmental disabilities. Plus, Medicaid payments have stayed flat since 2007, while costs rise every year. “These problems are happening across the country, not just at CFDS.” (Spectrum Local News)
Focus on NYC’s vulnerable students: Mamdani pledges to boost special education (Chalkbeat)
Los Angeles County Expands Tracking Program for Residents With Cognitive Disabilities GPS-enabled smartwatches and radio transmitters aim to help locate missing residents with dementia, autism or other conditions. (Governing.com)
Chicago Public Schools HSAT technical issues impact students with disabilities, English learners At least 1,000 students experienced technical problems while taking the High School Admissions Test earlier this month. (Chalkbeat)
Waitlist for disability services in WV climbs to more than 1,000; mostly children waiting for help (West Virginia Watch)
Ohio expands 911 database to better aid people with disabilities (State Scoop)
Two years after Maine passed a paid parent caregiver law, experts say it’s inaccessible (Central Maine)
AUTISM
Can Nonprofits Restrain Trump’s Autism Agenda? (Nonprofit Quarterly)
Tylenol maker urges FDA to reject request for an autism warning (NBC News)
HEALTH CARE
In a small Alabama town, a dentist weighs whether to stop treating kids on Medicaid Dentists in many states won’t see Medicaid patients because they’re paid too little for providing care. (Stateline)
ICE
Mother speaks out after teen with disabilities mistakenly arrested in immigration raid (PBS)
UN
The United Nations isn’t doing enough on disability A look at the UN’s evaluation of its 2019 Disability Inclusion Strategy (UNDIS). A key finding: a disconnect between policy change and the experience of disabled people, and progress to meeting ambitions on disability rights is ‘extremely slow’.” (Disability Debrief)