The National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET) empowers special education teachers, advocates, and professionals with practical training, trusted resources, and meaningful connections - supporting those who make a difference in the lives of students with diverse learning needs.
Today marks 25 years since September 11, 2001. As an organization with New York roots, we pause to remember the lives lost and the families forever changed, and to honor the teachers who, then and now, help children navigate what no lesson plan could prepare them for.
Here's the news you may have missed this week.
The biggest story of the week came out of Washington, where the Education Department's top special education official abruptly resigned less than four months into the role, just as the agency puts plans in motion to transfer special education functions to HHS. Her office oversees IDEA implementation and roughly $15 billion in funding, and the departure lands amid a wave of federal activity.
States and districts spent the week wrestling with the money side of special education's growth. Pennsylvania and Connecticut are confronting funding gaps, and Chicago is grappling with surging demand while federal dollars cover only about 12% of per-student costs. Meanwhile, AI is reshaping the dispute resolution process itself, with state agencies reporting due process filings that run hundreds of pages and cite hallucinated case law, and two major teachers unions struck a legally enforceable AI safety and privacy agreement with Microsoft.
On the research front, scientists mapped key protein interactions linked with profound autism, and a study of 171,000 patients found autism diagnoses rising sharply among women since 2020. New research also questioned whether younger brains really recover better from traumatic injury and linked air pollution exposure to childhood ADHD.
SlackBoards Help Kids Focus, Regulate and Learn
Most of us were taught that learning means sitting still. But for many children with special needs, stillness works against them. The vestibular system, which governs balance and spatial awareness, connects directly to the circuits regulating focus and readiness to learn. The right movement input shifts the nervous system into a calmer, more organized state that supports concentration. The SlackBoard was built on exactly this principle. Exceptional Edge Readers save 20% with code NASET
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Hello from the NASET Break Room - our quick pulse check on the state of special education based on trending posts and questions we saw online this week.
Last Week:
Have you ever had a parent push back on your recommendations because of something they saw on social media or a viral video?
Not yet, but I can see it coming 👀 (53%)
How do you feel about cameras in special education classrooms?
Supportive - I have nothing to hide and it protects everyone 📷 (31%)
Mixed - I understand why but it changes the environment 🤔 (25%)
Have you ever felt that following your district's inclusion policy required you to use a less effective approach for a specific student?
Yes, in specific cases 🤔 (44%)
Have you ever been pressured to deliver grade-level instruction to a student whose IEP clearly called for something different?
Yes, regularly - and it creates real conflict 😤
Yes, occasionally but I push back 💪
It's come up but we've worked through it 🤝
No, my team respects individualized instruction ✅
Do you talk to your nonspeaking students throughout the day even when they can't respond with speech?
Yes, always - I presume they understand more than we know 💬
Mostly yes, though I'm not always consistent 🤔
I try to but colleagues have questioned it 😬
Honestly, I'm not sure what best practice looks like here 🤷♀️
Has your district issued any guidance on how AI tool restrictions apply to students with disabilities?
No guidance at all - we're figuring it out ourselves 😤
Some guidance but it doesn't address AT specifically 🤔
Yes, we have clear carve-outs for disability-related tools ✅
AI restrictions haven't hit our district yet 📋
Teaching September 11 in the Special Education Classroom: Below are free resources which we hope can be helpful for you and your students.
9/11 Memorial & Museum Lesson Plans (Free, K-12) - Interactive lesson plans divided by grade level and theme. The K-2 lessons include one built around the picture book Fireboat.
9/11 Day Education Program (Free, Pre-K-12) - Standards-aligned lesson plans with SEL alignment, updated for 2026. The Pre-K-2 lessons on gratitude and good deeds offer a service-focused entry point that many students can access more readily than the events of the day.
Tunnel to Towers 9/11 Curriculum (Free, K-12) - Instructional units built around the Discovering Heroes picture book series, including units taught through art and physical education.
PBS NewsHour Classroom: September 11 Collection (Free, Middle-High) - Lesson plans for older students, including a 2025 lesson on teaching 9/11 through comics, a visual format worth considering for adolescent learners with reading challenges.
September Webinars at NASET
♿️ Wednesday September 16th at 7pm EST: Disability Rights and the Classroom Join Dr. Michael Ashley Stein, Co-Founder of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability and a drafter of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, on where the rights of students with disabilities come from and where they're headed.
👩💻 Register Today🧩 Tuesday September 22nd at 7pm EST: Unlocking Communication:
What 40+ Years of Autism Research Tells Us About Minimally Verbal Students Join a pioneer in the field, Dr. Helen Tager-Flusberg, Professor Emerita in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Boston University and Director of the Center for Autism Research Excellence who has led the research answering the questions educators ask every day: How does language actually develop in children with autism? What predicts whether a minimally verbal student will gain spoken language? And what does the evidence say about how to support communication when speech is limited?
👩💻 Register Today | Free for NASET Members
From the NASET Vault
➡️ Parent Teacher Conference Series: What Are Public Schools Required to Do When Students with Disabilities Are Bullied?
⬇️ NASET Support Squad Downloads of the Week Teaching Students How to Navigate Conflict with Peers and Preparing for State Monitoring and Compliance Audits Scroll down to instantly download ⬇️
🎁 The Gift Card Giveaway Ends on SUNDAY
NASET is here to support you this school year, and our Built for Day One event is live through THIS SUNDAY, September 13.
Watch the recording of our FREE webinar with ARK Therapeutic + Katie Zelinski, MS, OTR/L, The Well-Balanced OT and you're automatically entered into our weekly $100 gift card drawings
We’ve selected four winners already and on Sunday, it could be you!
Take our educator survey and receive a $5 gift card as our thank you
Lock in membership at $75/year forever before September 14
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Transition planning transforms when you center deaf student strengths.
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The "Just Right Challenge"
Some movement tools rev kids up, working against you. The SlackBoard does the opposite. Its low-amplitude, rhythmic motion calms and organizes the nervous system; what occupational therapists call the "just right challenge." Rooted in Dr. A. Jean Ayres' sensory integration work, it delivers enough input to engage sensory-seeking, under-responsive, or chronically dysregulated children without tipping them into overwhelm. For these kids, the right input can be transformative. Exceptional Edge Readers save 20% with code NASET
Shout Out to Last Week’s Winners Who Correctly Answered, “Sensory, Escape, Attention, Tangible.” View the winners list here!
This Week's Question:
When a parent revokes consent for special education in writing, what must the district do?
Correctly answer 3 or more trivia questions each month to be eligible for a gift card! We had 22 winners in August!
What’s one special ed resource you wish existed? Reply to this email and let us know!
Getting Stated with the SlackBoard
Bringing the SlackBoard into your classroom, clinic, or home? Start with the SlackBoard PLUS model with two lines, the recommended setup for anyone just beginning to integrate it. The motion is small, rhythmic, and regulatory rather than alerting, so students can use it during instruction, not just breaks. Watch a short demo of how to begin. Exceptional Edge Readers save 20% with code NASET
“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”