Advocates for special education are raising concerns that significant cuts to the Department of Education under the Trump administration could severely impact services for students with disabilities. The administration has promised that funding and Individualized Education Programs will remain in place. Still, experts say distributing and overseeing funding from a reduced department workforce is not possible, potentially leading to inconsistent services across states. "You end up with no oversight and no way to distribute the resources," says Susan Popkin of the Urban Institute. "Some states will have funding and services ready to go, and others won't do anything at all, so we'll have huge holes across the country."

Be assertive in your leadership by being directive, speaking with conviction and leading with both authority and empathy to increase your chances of a promotion over leaders who are quiet, conflict-averse and reluctant to make tough calls, writes executive coach Joel Garfinkle. Improve your presence as a leader by being more enthusiastic, asserting yourself with respect and letting senior leaders see you engaging in difficult conversations and addressing issues head-on, Garfinkle advises.

Parenting and leadership share core skills, including emotional regulation, clear communication and boundary-setting, writes Jessica Wilen, an executive coach and founder of A Cup of Ambition. Wilen shares six lessons from parenting that translate to leadership, including the importance of maintaining your composure, being clear about what needs to happen and why and the ability to admit mistakes and repair any damage.

A report from the Center for Democracy & Technology finds that 57% of special education teachers have used AI to help develop individualized education programs or 504 plans during the 2024-25 school year, up 18% from the previous year. The report highlights potential legal and ethical issues, including compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

Asobo -- a Raleigh-N.C.-based K-12 startup -- uses AI to adapt game-like math modules for each student via a database of 300,000 questions. AI helps personalize the questions to match a student's grade level, background, learning disabilities and needs.

The Education Department has begun transferring major grant programs to other federal agencies as part of President Donald Trump's plan to dismantle the department. The Department of Labor will now oversee Title I funding for schools in low-income areas and other programs, while the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of the Interior will take over other education-related grants, but student loans and civil rights enforcement will stay with the department for now.

The debate over gifted and talented programs should focus on whether schools can accurately assess each student's potential, writes Joni Lakin, a professor of educational research at The University of Alabama. Lakin highlights the limitations of traditional identification methods, which often rely on one-time tests and early sorting, and advocates for using multiple measures and regular reviews to identify and nurture student strengths.