shruti rajkumar

Special education staff decimated after Trump administration shutdown firings: Sources The nation’s special education services have been significantly damaged after Fridays’s mass layoffs within the Department of Education, sources told ABC News.

The Department of Education reportedly fired nearly everyone in the office that focuses on the nation’s children with disabilities in a wave of new layoffs

Federal judge blocks New Hampshire anti-DEI law amid disability rights concerns Legal fight intensifies as educators and advocates warn that the vague law threatens support for disabled students

A federal judge has temporarily blocked New Hampshire’s controversial anti-DEI law amid mounting legal challenges from educators & disability advocates, @shruti-rajkumar.bsky.social reports. The law could negatively affect disabled students & disability inclusion in K-12 schools & universities.

Federal judge blocks New Hampshire anti-DEI law amid disability rights concerns Legal fight intensifies as educators and advocates warn that the vague law threatens support for disabled students

Federal judge blocks New Hampshire anti-DEI law amid disability rights concerns, @shruti-rajkumar.bsky.social reports. Legal fight intensifies as educators & advocates warn that the vague law threatens support for disabled students & could lead to loss of essential funding.

Killing the story: Journalists speak on Palestine in U.S. newsrooms October 7 Panelists Aline Batarseh Abdallah Fayyad Eman Mohammed Sana Saeed Hosted by Laura Albast

📢Join us for Killing the Story, a virtual event on Oct. 7, 1pm PT/4pm ET!

Palestinian, Arab, & Muslim journalists give firsthand accounts about how media manufactures consent & silences dissent as we approach 2 years of the Israeli-imposed & U.S.-backed genocide in Gaza.
tinyurl.com/killingthest...

Massachusetts antisemitism education sparks backlash over Anti-Defamation League's influence State recommendations for combating antisemitism in schools are facing pushback from educators and advocates who warn of the ADL's influence

Massachusetts plans for antisemitism education spark backlash over Anti-Defamation League’s influence, @shruti-rajkumar.bsky.social reports. State recommendations face pushback from educators & advocates who warn that the ADL’s influence may limit academic freedom & distort historical perspectives.

Federal cuts to teacher programs threaten DEI in Massachusetts As Massachusetts schools brace for another year of teacher shortages, federal cuts have left vital funding programs hanging by a thread

MA schools are reeling from Trump’s gutting of $6 million in federal grants for teacher training, @shruti-rajkumar.bsky.social‪ reports. Several districts are experiencing an increase in diversity among the student body, but a decline in diverse educators, pending another year of teacher shortages.

Federal cuts to teacher programs threaten DEI in Massachusetts As Massachusetts schools brace for another year of teacher shortages, federal cuts have left vital funding programs hanging by a thread

Federal cuts to teacher training programs threaten diversity & equity in Massachusetts classrooms, @shruti-rajkumar.bsky.social reports. As Massachusetts schools brace for another year of teacher shortages, federal cuts have left vital funding programs hanging by a thread.

@prismreports.org continues to do consistently responsible reporting on issues from long covid to Gaza to ICE where almost every other outlet has consistently been The Absolute Worst.

Highly recommend following and supporting them if you are able.

Supreme Court to decide on disability discrimination standard Ruling in A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools could make it harder for all victims of disability discrimination to sue

SCOTUS is deciding whether to make it harder for all disabled people to sue for discrimination, @reinasultan.bsky.social reports. The ruling in A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools could make it harder for victims of disability discrimination to sue, despite protections under the ADA & Section 504.

New England teachers described uncertainty about the potential impact of Trump’s directive to eliminate DEI in public schools, especially on immigrant and low-income students, @shruti-rajkumar.bsky.social reports
prismreports.org/2025/05/19/d...

New England teachers speak out after Trump DEI ban lawsuit Teachers described uncertainty about the potential impact of directive to end DEI in schools, especially on immigrant and low-income students

For my latest Prism article, I spoke to teachers in New England who described uncertainty about the potential impact of Trump’s directive to eliminate DEI in public schools, especially on immigrant and low-income students
prismreports.org/2025/05/19/d...

I wish "blind" wasn't used in the headline here. Disability terms, including "crippling," don't have to be used in a negative way.

Georgia Governor Signs Law To Eliminate Subminimum Wage For Disabled People At least 16 other states have passed legislation to eliminate the decades-old practice.

Georgia passed a law on Thursday that will phase out subminimum wage for people with disabilities, adding to the growing list of states that have taken legislative action to end the decades-old practice.

Read more:
shrutirajkumar.substack.com/p/georgia-go...

Maine community not backing down from Trump’s transgender athlete attacks Maine is firm in allowing transgender students to participate in school sports despite threats from the Trump administration regarding funding

In my new piece, I spoke with LGBTQ advocates and parents of transgender athletes on how the community is refusing to comply with Trump’s transgender sports ban.

Read more:
prismreports.org/2025/05/01/m...

Maine community not backing down from Trump’s transgender athlete attacks Maine is firm in allowing transgender students to participate in school sports despite threats from the Trump administration regarding funding

Maine community refuses to back down from Trump’s attacks against transgender athletes, @shruti-rajkumar.bsky.social reports. Maine has remained firm in its decision to allow transgender students to participate in school sports despite threats from the Trump admin to withhold federal funding.

Native America: An Indigenous perspective on news & history | Rebecca Nagle | Substack Indigenous communities deserve the same standard of journalism as the rest of the country, but rarely receive it from non-Native media outlets. My writing seeks to correct this. Click to read Native A...

(1/8) In case you missed it, I am on Substack! In my first newsletter I wrote about how a President defying federal courts is not “unprecedented.” Americans have seen this constitutional crisis before–we just forgot about it. Read and subscribe at gohini.substack.com. Thread:

Disability protection groups in two states pause services after missing federal funds "We are fighting for our very survival."

Two disability-focused state organizations, Disability Rights New Jersey and Disability Rights Arkansas, have paused services due to not receiving federal funds. New from me at @motherjones.com. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

RFK Jr.’s medical record plan frightens autistic people and their parents One autistic advocate called the idea ‘along the line of eugenics,’ one autistic lawyer tells Eric Garcia. While others fear privacy concerns

One #ActuallyAutistic lawyer and self-advocate told me that she worries that parents of autistic kids might be more afraid to access services under RFK Jr.'s proposed health-data sharing plan.
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

RFK Jr. Plans To Create Disease Registry To Track Autistic People The creation of the database and registry is part of a larger project run by Kennedy to find the “cause of autism” by September through a massive research effort.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) plans to collect and give Americans’ private medical records to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for his massive research study on autism.

Read more:

open.substack.com/pub/shrutira...

If you're non-disabled and are furious about recent ableist comments, one material thing you can do is ask disabled and chronically ill people in your life if they need help with anything. They may say no and respect that, but we live in an ableist society where asking for help is hard.

RFK Jr.'s Obsession With Autism Is A 'Dangerous' Form Of Ableism. Here's Why. News that autistic people can't pay taxes is news to autistic people who paid taxes Tuesday.

Spoke to autistic people about RFK Jr's recent claims about the lives autistic kids go on to lead & the idea that autism is something that needs to be eliminated or cured

“Autistic people know, we don’t need prevention. We need inclusion, awareness and acceptance"
www.huffpost.com/entry/rfk-jr...

Looking to speak to trans high school athletes in Maine for a piece for Prism. DM me or message me on signal @ shrutirajkumar.98 #journorequests

Any anti-bias disability training for the police won't work, in my opinion, if some police officers in general remain quick to pull the trigger. This is devastating.

RFK Jr. Vows To Determine ‘Cause Of Autism’ By September The head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has repeatedly promoted a baseless connection between vaccines and autism.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. vowed on Thursday that the U.S. Department of Health And Human Services (HHS) will determine the “cause of autism” by September.

Read more:
open.substack.com/pub/shrutira...

🥹Thank you so much Brittany!!

@shruti-rajkumar.bsky.social is such an invaluable voice when it comes to covering disability issues. You should follow her and check out her new Substack!

Welcome to Crip The Media! Where there's no news about us without us

I’m excited to share this little project I’ve been working on! I’ll be continuing my disability breaking news reporting as well as creating other disability-related content through my new Substack called Crip The Media.

Subscribe below!
open.substack.com/pub/shrutira...

One reason I don't refer to things falling apart as "crippled" is because of the word's origin relating to disability. Disability is value neutral, and some disabled people have reclaimed "cripple" in a positive way.