The Law Office of Carolyn McTier Makens

04/21/2026

The U.S. Department of Education gave Congress an official notice that it plans to move all federal English-learner programs and duties out of a standalone office.

🏛️ Read more: https://bit.ly/4sBvFYW

04/21/2026

📣 xMinds Monthly Speaker Series (FREE Webinar!)

How do shifting policies in Washington, Annapolis, and MCPS directly impact your child's classroom services? Join xMinds on Thursday, April 23 for an essential primer with COPAA Legal Director Selene Almazan, Esq., to learn how the special education funding and oversight framework actually works.

🗓 Thursday, April 23, 2026
⏰ 7:00PM - 8:30PM ET
🔗 FREE Virtual Event: xminds.org/event-6640853

✔️ Understand the system behind your child’s services
✔️ Learn how to advocate effectively and protect your child’s rights
🌎 Live Spanish interpretation available

04/21/2026

Transition Planning is a very important aspect of a student’s IEP.

10/13/2025

The nation's special education services have been significantly impacted after last week's mass layoffs within the Department of Education, and it could have an immediate impact on children with disabilities, sources told ABC News.

"Do people realize that this is happening to this population of vulnerable students?" one department leader told ABC News. https://abc7.com/17993643/

06/13/2025

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/06/12/supreme-court-decision-student-disability-discrimination-case/83776317007/

The case was closely watched by disability rights groups who say there was a “nearly insurmountable barrier” for help sought by schoolchildren.

06/13/2025

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/06/12/schools-disability-accommodations-supreme-court-decision

The justices unanimously sided with a family who argued that schoolchildren had to meet an unfairly high burden to show schools are falling short under federal law.

06/03/2025

https://www.coastalview.com/opinion/stop-blaming-the-kids-the-system-is-working-as-intended/article_79ff24e1-0e81-49ef-b9d6-735b07a0b759.html

These days, no one seems to want to teach — and it’s not because of the kids. As a special education behavior specialist, I often worked with students who were

03/21/2025

https://www.copaa.org/news/news.asp?id=696568

Washington DC– In response to the White House issuing an executive order (EO) calling for the Secretary of Education to develop a plan to dismantle the Department of Education (ED), Denise Marshall, CEO, Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) issued the following statement:

02/20/2025

https://copaa.salsalabs.org/SupportMedicaidProtectStudentswithDisabilities/index.html

Congress is proposing cuts to Medicaid that will harm access to school-based services for children with disabilities.

02/12/2025

https://theeducatorsroom.com/in-a-new-lawsuit-17-states-sue-to-do-away-with-

A high-stakes lawsuit, Texas v. Becerra, is currently making its way through the courts, threatening crucial protections for people with disabilities under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Seventeen states have challenged the federal government’s updated rules, putting at risk decades of leg...