December 7, 2025

Left: Ed Martin was one of the authors of the law now known as IDEA. Before the law, children with disabilities were often turned away from public schools. "They were invisible," says Martin. Right: Maggie Heilman and her daughter, Brooklynn, 14, at their home in a Kansas City suburb. Brooklynn has Down syndrome and her own special education plan thanks to IDEA.
Thomas Simonetti and Katie Currid for NPR

Happy Sunday,

It’s Cory this week, your friendly, neighborhood education reporter. I’m excited to share a new story that’s taken quite a bit of my time and energy – far more than the usual news hit.

Fifty years ago, just after Thanksgiving of 1975, President Gerald Ford signed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, the landmark law that created special education as we know it, and guaranteed all children with disabilities the right to a "free appropriate public education."

Originally, I’d planned to do a traditional anniversary story, marking the milestone. Our librarian, Sarah Knight, tracked down Ed Martin, 94, who helped write the law, and, over the past year, he’s indulged me with several hours of lively conversation about the special education landscape before the law passed and how he feels about the law’s legacy, with half a century of hindsight.

But a handful of real and threatened moves by the Trump administration has recently raised fears among disability-rights advocates and families that the federal role in special education, and in protecting children from disability discrimination, is being eroded.

I interviewed 40 sources for this story, including a mother who filed a disability discrimination complaint with the U.S. Education Department, alleging her daughter had been mistreated at her middle school, only to have the resulting federal investigation repeatedly disrupted by Trump administration staffing cuts.

It’s my longest story of the year, but it didn’t feel quite right to break it up into smaller pieces. What’s happened at the Education Department isn’t one change or two – it’s a multitude.

You can find the story here. A special thanks to editor Nicole Cohen, who is an incredible human, and she made this story much better than it would have been without her.

Thank you for reading and/or listening to my conversation about the reporting with All Things Considered host Ailsa Chang. I hope you have a great week.

— Cory Turner, Correspondent, NPR Ed

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In other news...

Northwestern University settles with the Trump administration in a $75 million deal to regain federal funding. Northwestern is one of several schools ensnared in President Trump's campaign against university policies he has decried as "woke." Read the story.

— Alana Wise, Politics Reporter, NPR

CDC advisers delay planned vote on hepatitis B vaccine for infants. Vaccine advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unexpectedly postponed controversial votes Thursday on changes to the current recommendation of universally immunizing newborns against hepatitis B. The current recommendation is intended to make sure no at-risk infant falls through the cracks, and to confer lifelong protection for all U.S. children against the hepatitis B virus, which can cause serious, potentially fatal health problems. It is the cornerstone of a decades-long strategy to eliminate hepatitis B in the U.S. Read the story.

— Pien Huang, Science Correspondent, NPR

Libraries and museums get federal funding back after Trump cuts. The Institute of Museum and Library Services is reinstating all grants that were previously terminated by the Trump administration. A short statement posted on the agency's website Wednesday reads, "this action supersedes any prior notices which may have been received related to grant termination." Read the story.

— Andrew Limbong, Arts Reporter, NPR

Gifts for every public radio nerd on your list

The most wonderful time of the year? Uhhhhh, sure. Maybe after you’ve crossed everyone off your shopping list. To help you get to the “wonderful” part faster, check out our 2025 holiday guide. We’ve broken out our most popular items into categories for different types of people we know you know, from the music head to the minimalist to the playful activist.

The proverbial ribbon on top? Every purchase you make supports the local journalism you love. So when you gift others, you’re also gifting your favorite NPR station.

Shop Holiday Collections ➔

An update from the Student Podcast Challenge...

Calling all teachers, educators and students: The Student Podcast Challenge team will be hosting our first-ever webinar to discuss the contest, student podcasting – and our new special prize for the 2026 contest. We will be celebrating the 250th birthday of America next year, and listening for student podcasts that explore what the famous phrase “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” means to you.

Read more about the 2026 contest here. And always, you can reach us with questions or feedback at studentpodcastchallenge@npr.org. Can’t wait to listen to what you come up with!

— Janet Lee, Producer, NPR Ed

And here's something to make you smile...

NPR

“Books We Love” is back!

Books We Love returns with 350+ new titles handpicked by NPR staff and trusted critics. Find 12 years of recommendations all in one place — that's nearly 4,000 great reads.

As always, thank you for reading and listening!

— The NPR Education Team

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