Background: Since Congress enters recess throughout August, they have a limited window to pass critical (FY) 2024 appropriations bills before the September 30th deadline. However, there are major disagreements between the House and Senate on funding levels, jeopardizing the...

Representative Nancy Mace (R-SC) and Ann Kuster (D-NH) introduced the bipartisan Preparing and Retaining All (PARA) Educators Act. This legislation authorizes grants to states to support the recruitment and retention of paraprofessionals. Paraeducators include...

Senator Casey (D-PA) is planning to reintroduce the Augmentative and Alternative Communication Centers to Establish National Training (AACCENT) Act soon; however, he is first seeking additional co-sponsors. This bill would establish three national resource centers...

On February 27, 2023, the bipartisan Transformation to Competitive Employment Act was reintroduced in the Senate by Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Senator Steve Daines (R-MT). The house also introduced the bill with the sponsors being Reps. Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Cathy...

Many college students with disabilities are denied the support they need because their IEPs or 504 Plans are not accepted as proof of their disability. The Respond, Innovate, Succeed, and Empower (RISE) Act addresses this problem by amending the Higher Education Opportunity...

On January 26, Senator Casey (D-PA) re-introduced the Better Care Better Jobs Act (S. 100) in the new Congress. The bill, strongly supported by the Autism Society, is cosponsored by Senators Wyden (D-OR), Duckworth (D-IL), Hassan (D-NH), and Brown (D-OH). The bill...

People with Autism leverage the services of direct support professionals (DSPs) in order to live and work in their homes and communities. However, low wages due to stagnant reimbursement rates have led to high turnover and vacancy rates in the DSP workforce. The loss of...

On April 27th, on World Autism Day, Representatives Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), and Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.) reintroduced the bipartisan Autism Family Caregivers Act. An identical bill was introduced in the Senate by Senators Bob...