Last year, the Center for Learner Equity (CLE) was a leading voice protecting students with disabilities, defending the Department of Education (ED), and advancing our vision around the future of education.
At the federal level, our advocacy work accelerated with an urgent need to push back on harmful actions. We also continued our work alongside local partners as they strengthened their services and supports for students with disabilities, built more inclusive systems, and improved outcomes for the learners who need it most. That is the heart of CLE’s work: pairing urgent national advocacy with meaningful, sustained partnership with school systems on the ground.
Together, our federal advocacy as well as our state and local partnerships reflect CLE’s holistic approach: protecting critical rights while supporting educators and leaders who make those rights a reality.
Let’s take a look at a few highlights of 2025, to ground us in what lies ahead in 2026.
Federal advocacy
Much of the year was devoted to urging the Administration to protect 8+ million children with disabilities and Congress to advance the IDEA. This included:
Virtual Town Halls: Organizing a November event attended by 1,300 parents and educators regarding recent federal actions around special education. Watch here.
Press Conferences:
- Calling out federal actions around special education and opposing the path to dismantle the ED.
- Condemning the inclusion of a voucher bill in a House markup. Learn more here.
- Elevating the unprecedented actions threatening the civil rights of students, particularly those with disabilities. Watch here.
Advocacy: Speaking with Senate and House committee education staff on Capitol Hill to share concerns about recent federal actions and urging Congress to hold oversight hearings.
Raising our voice:
- Releasing statements vehemently opposing the Administration’s negligence towards children with disabilities.
- Disseminating policy recommendations to keep the ED under a single department.
News Coverage: Speaking on the record and elevating the urgency of protecting the rights of children with disabilities. Highlights included:
- K-12 Dive: Why shifting special ed oversight could be ‘a public education crisis’
- The 74: Isolation & Neglect: Disability Advocates Fear Return to a Bleak Past Under HHS
- Chalkbeat: A big change for kids with disabilities is underway, Trump says. Critics say it’s against the law
- Inside Philanthropy: “This Is an Emergency.” How Can Philanthropy Respond to Trump’s Assault on K-12 Education?
- The New York Times: What the Trump Era Looks Like for Disabled Students in K-12
State and city-level work
While we raised our national profile on behalf of students with disabilities across the nation, we also focused on our field-catalyst work. In addition to work in Nashville and Atlanta, highlights in 2025 included:
Connecticut: Preparing to defend our legal victories before the state appellate court. We were proud to be named a Finalist for the PIE Network’s Eddie Awards “Best Defense.”
Louisiana: Guiding the official launch of the New Orleans Educational Service Agency, coordinating special education services across 11 schools and serving more than 1,000 students. More here.
New Jersey: Coaching five Camden high schools and designing the next funding cohort for K–8 schools. Third-party implementation researchers are showing strong evidence that our coached grantmaking approach is improving student outcomes. We also partnered with the New Jersey Public Charter School Association to publish the Teacher Retention Guide.
NICE Network
We expanded our Network of Infrastructures and Collaborative Entities (NICE), launching NICE 2.0. This initiative builds the capacity of member organizations that work with schools and districts to implement best practices for educating students with disabilities. Through NICE, we coordinate leadership development, resource and research sharing, and policy and advocacy opportunities for members.
CLE hosted a successful annual convening in Nashville, in which our Community of Practice members completed compelling case studies documenting the impact of their school partnerships on student outcomes. We’re thrilled to launch our second Community of Practice this year for existing NICE members.
We’re looking forward to building upon the momentum in 2026!
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