Casey Doherty

- Research on the School-to-Prison Pipeline = special education placements can funnel students into incarceration.
- At the same time, underidentification can deny students the services and accommodations to which they are entitled.
- The proposed revision is inconsistent with IDEA’s purpose.

Some key messaging:
- Students of color face disproportionate identification in certain disability categories & disproportionate levels of discipline.
- These disparities can carry lifelong consequences, including increased dropout rates and contact with the juvenile justice system.

You can share:
- Why data transparency matters in special education
- How disproportionality shows up in your state or district
- Why federal oversight under IDEA is essential
- Why reducing “administrative burden” should not come at the expense of civil rights

Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Annual State Application Under Part B of the Individuals With Disa... In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Department is proposing a revision of a currently approved information collection request (ICR).

By 2/9, I’m opposing ED’s proposal to stop requiring states to report significant disproportionality data under IDEA Part B. This data tracks racial disparities in disability ID, placement, & discipline. Removing it weakens transparency and civil rights enforcement. Please submit a comment!

Go submit your testimony to the House right now! And again (or if you miss today’s House deadline) to the Senate on Tuesday! You don’t need to live in Maryland—the idea is to show this is a global problem/global market. Here’s how to submit:

docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Maryland considers Long COVID innovation bill - The Sick Times Maryland may soon become the first U.S. state to directly support Long COVID research and development. The state’s government is considering a bill that would establish a grant and loan program dedica...

Great @thesicktimes.org piece on the Maryland Long Covid bill!

Trump Wanted To Cut Disability Programs. Congress Just Said No After months of uncertainty, federal lawmakers approved a spending package that rejects Trump administration efforts to alter IDEA and do away with some disability programs.

The spending plan retains the Administration for Community Living, which oversees programs helping people with disabilities access all range of services in their communities and advocates for the needs of people with disabilities.

www.disabilityscoop.com/2026/02/05/t...

Always lieutenant

Transplant recipient arrested by federal agents in Rochester needs medicine, state representative says State Rep. Kim Hicks told MPR News she drove to the Whipple Federal Building near Ft. Snelling Thursday night to give the man his medication but authorities wouldn't take it without a doctor's note. S...

A man taken into custody in Rochester Thursday by federal immigration agents and now held at the Whipple Federal Building in the Twin Cities is a recent organ transplant recipient who is without his needed anti-rejection medication, state Rep. Kim Hicks tells MPR News.

Hi all!

There will be two windows to share your story in the form of written testimony to support the Maryland Long Covid Innovation bill. The first is:

This Friday 2/6 from 8am-3pm

To make it easier, @viralpersistence.bsky.social and I have written up a how-to: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

MD Long Covid Bill Testimony This form is to share written testimony for Maryland bills HB0027 and SB0392, which if passed will create a funding structure for LC research at the state level. The process of submitting testimony on...

We know this may be too involved for some w/ #LongCovid #pwLC.

If you can make an account and write your story, @viralpersistence.bsky.social is offering to help format and upload. You’d need to share your login, name and address. If you’re comfortable w/that, you can send her your testimony here:

I took the low energy survey. There's a general as well. It is an extremely caring and knowledgeable survey. There's no compensation, but I am happy to help researchers looking to find ways to help others. If you have ME/CFS, I recommend it.

The survey will remain open until September! So truly, no rush.

The survey has only been open for a day & there's surprisingly 70 in-depth qualitative responses. Thank you so much everyone for expending your precious energy. I will be presenting preliminary findings in April at this conference dandasymposium.yale.edu. I will post the presentation as well!

I wrote this spicy piece, reflecting on the history of eugenics and how it reflects on current policies.

What the Crackdown Has Done to Minneapolis Children

I’m outraged. Our kids are living in terror under this unjust federal occupation. No child should endure the cruelty being inflicted at the hands of the Trump regime.

Snowstorms are hell for wheelchair users—but they don't have to be "You can't physically move. You can't do anything."

THIS: “Living in a city that you know has the resources, and still dealing with these issues, shows just how poorly cities are ready to deal with accessibility issues” - @seemiaroll.bsky.social

It doesn’t have to be this way. #Ableism #DisabilityJustice

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Disabled US citizen's family says ICE stopped his father from attending his funeral Wael Tarabishi died three months after his caregiver father, Maher Tarabishi, was detained during a routine check-in with ICE in October.

A disabled man named Wael Tarabishi died last week after ICE abducted his father and full time caregiver.

Wael begged for his dad’s release.

He told ICE that losing his caregiver would kill him.

His father didn’t even get to say goodbye and has been denied the right to attend the funeral.

Snowstorms are hell for wheelchair users—but they don't have to be "You can't physically move. You can't do anything."

It's not just an inconvenience when curb cuts and sidewalks are poorly shoveled. “Living in a city that you know has the resources, and still dealing with these issues, shows just how poorly cities are ready to deal with accessibility issues." www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Black and white photo of Shalida Askanazi (Black woman with long curly hair wearing a black top with a small smile) and her book cover a muted background of bookshelves. Her book cover is in color and show a city in the background with a wheelchair in the foreground and the title "That Girl's in a Wheelchair." #MEAction logo in top corner. Text in light purple: Book reading with Shalida Askanazi Join us virtual reading February 20 3 pm ET.

We are thrilled to announce a virtual book reading featuring @shalidaask.bsky.social, #MEAction’s own Creative Arts & Community Manager! Her memoir, That Girl’s in a Wheelchair, just launched yesterday!

Join us online February 20th at 3 pm ET: www.meaction.net/event-detail...

#Disability

I will simply never recover from reading this sentence:

"Since Georgia implemented work requirements in 2020, they have spent twice as much on Deloitte consultants and administrative costs as on healthcare for people."

Disability groups are standing united for trans rights. That hasn't always been the case. Forty years ago, disability advocates abandoned the LGBTQ+ community in exchange for legal protections. Decades later, they are fighting a Trump administration rule to roll-back more safeguards for tr...

Phenomenal reporting on the proposed exclusions of trans folks from 504/disability protections: 19thnews.org/2026/01/disa...

Jobs Report Delayed Because of Partial Shutdown

Another government shutdown, another delay in key economic data.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/b... #NumbersDay #EconSky

Shared this on insta & will share here too. If you’re not in the ME or Long Covid communities you’re likely unaware of just how often we have to watch young people die.

Do NOT use an app to track your hormones

Interviews can be short and flexible format, and I have permission to grant anonymity as needed.

If interested, reach out by Thursday 2/05 via any of the following:

—Email mirandamasksnyc@gmail.com
—DM @crookedneighbor.bsky.social
—Dm @crookedneighbor.65 on Signal

Thanks and solidarity!

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—Immigrants and BIPOC with Long Covid or ME whose medical care has been impacted by ICE (especially in MN)
—Immigrant care workers (especially home health aides) or people who advocate for them
—People with Long Covid in MN or other heavily impacted areas who are doing rapid response

(2/3)

I’m working on a story for @thesicktimes.org about things people with Long Covid and other energy-limiting illnesses (as well as their caregivers) can do to protect themselves and their communities from ICE. I’d love to speak with any of the following:

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Last year, I spoke to a lawyer doing immigration work, and she told me she always masks when she goes to immigration detention centers because she refuses to risk spreading anything.

I wonder how much of the norm that is, given the measles outbreak, in addition to Covid and flu being a concern.