Special Education
Education for students with disabilities or special needs
Latest stories
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Amid overhaul, Wake County plans to improve special education academics
The plan is just one element of a larger overhaul of special education programming in the district that also includes changes intended to address student behavior.
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Feds say NC special education still needs improvement. What they say still isn't working
A report by the U.S. Department of Education is the latest to raise concerns about special education in North Carolina, which families and advocates for thousands of students with disabilities have long contended is drastically underfunded.
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Wake County families talk funding at engagement summit as district eyes special education cuts
Saturday marked the second day of the Wake County Public School System's Family and Community Engagement Summit.
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Wake County teachers protest special education cuts
Wake County special education teachers and staff received an email on Tuesday notifying them that the district is planning to cut its special education programs by $18 million.
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Wake school leaders agree to move money to pay for higher diesel costs
The district says it believes it has enough fuel to last through the end of April, but it needs more fuel for May and for a good portion of June — and at a price closer to what it has budgeted for.
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Wake Schools physically restrained or secluded nearly 400 students in fall 2025, new data shows
The district presents these numbers every six months as a part of a legal settlement with a family a few years ago.
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Durham Public Schools fires employee relations executive charged with perjury this month
Ayesha Hunter had been suspended with pay since Dec. 19. That’s when law enforcement executed a search warrant at district offices.
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3 Durham school administrators indicted for obstruction after probe into student tied to chair
The indictments stem from an investigation into an incident of a child being tied to a chair at Eno Valley Elementary School in 2024.
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More oversight, more resources: Wake schools sets plan for compliance with federal special education laws
Federal reports show the school district has fallen short of serving students quickly enough and is disproportionately suspending Black students with disabilities for long terms.
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More layoffs proposed at the U.S. Department of Education. How could they affect NC schools?
The Trump administration has already cut hundreds of other employees and hundreds of millions of dollars in teacher training and mental health grants.
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NC schools to feel impacts of U.S. Department of Education cuts
A judge has temporarily stopped more layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education.
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NC isn't meeting federal special education requirements. State officials point to the teacher shortage
North Carolina will face more scrutiny from the federal government after failing to meet benchmarks of the federal Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act.
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Wake County special ed teacher charged with assaulting student with disability
A Wake County special education teacher has been arrested and charged with assaulting a student with a disability.
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More Wake County students being secluded at school, new data shows
The school board wants to reduce these numbers in light of lawsuits over seclusion and restraint. That includes a lawsuit that led to the school system needing to report these numbers to the board every six months.
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Wake Schools is overhauling how it serves students with disabilities. Here's what they're doing
The changes come three years after the district first received a report from an education consulting firm informing them of major issues with staff training, poorly defined staff roles and problematic communication with parents.
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Family claims nonverbal student with autism was slapped, knocked down
The family of Matthew Wells, a nonverbal student with autism, is suing Moore County Schools and a teacher's assistant. The family is alleging that the assistant slapped and knocked Matthew to the floor in 2021.
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Parents: Vance first grader with special needs left alone for hours
A Vance County couple, Tori and David McGhee, told WRAL News that their 7-year-old daughter was left alone in a Vance County classroom for hours after dismissal.
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Wake County Schools voting on state legislative priorities Tuesday
School board members will meet at Wake County Schools headquarters Tuesday to talk about what they want to bring before state lawmakers. Teacher pay, changes to the school calendar and special education funding will be their top three priorities.
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Parents file complaints over special education teacher vacancies
Special education teacher vacancies have more than tripled in the past five years. WRAL Education Insider examines the consequences.
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Parents file complaints as NC schools struggle to hire special education teachers
North Carolina's worsening special education teacher shortage is leaving students without proper services and schools vulnerable to violating state and federal laws.
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NC schools are struggling to hire special education teachers. Parents are filing complaints
New complaints follow years of a worsening shortage of special education teachers that's leaving schools without qualified faculty and students without properly provided services.
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Robinson, Morrow say they would turn down federal education dollars
In a newly revealed video, Republican candidate for governor Mark Robinson told supporters at a private event he would turn down federal funding for North Carolina schools. That's a popular idea among some conservatives, but it could come with a hefty price tag.
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Robinson: 'We don't want' federal education funds in NC
In a newly revealed video, Republican candidate for governor Mark Robinson told supporters at a private event he would turn down federal funding for North Carolina schools. That's a popular idea among some conservatives, but it could come with a hefty price tag.
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Proposal to revamp special education funding heads to NC lawmakers
It's the latest of decades of recommended changes to how the state funds services for its more than 200,000 students with disabilities. But is it different this time?
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NC teacher's assistant accused of biting student with autism
"He said he had a bite," said Kimberly. "So I pulled his shirt down, and on the back of his shoulder, he did very much have a huge raised-up bite on his back."
