Hope, Help, and Innovation for Our Community

🎙️ A Note from David

Happy August! As summer enters its final stretch, our families are beginning to pivot toward the upcoming school year transitions. It’s that familiar, bittersweet time when we try to soak up the remaining relaxed weeks while simultaneously preparing our mindsets and IEP strategies for the Fall.

If you need a quick moment of humor to break up the weight of back-to-school prep, take a look at one of our short videos on the channel: “I Can Tame Lions… But I Can’t Survive an IEP Meeting 🦁.” It uses a bit of comedy to shine a light on the overwhelming gauntlet we navigate as parents. We’re continuing to expand Stella to eliminate those exact pain points so you don’t have to wrestle with finding answers the hard way. You can catch all our latest tools and resources directly on our site.

📰 Hope & Impact News

• Senate Committee Panel Advances Bill Safeguarding Special Education (S. 5046): On July 30, 2026, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee voted 13-9 in a bipartisan effort to advance a crucial bill (S. 5046). Supported by over 30 leading disability advocacy organizations, the bill explicitly prohibits federal transfers of special education oversight out of the Department of Education, ensuring that learning differences in our schools remain treated under an educational framework rather than shifting toward a medicalized model.
• Bipartisan Action to Ease College Transitions (RISE Act Markup): In major higher education news, the Senate HELP Committee also recently marked up the bipartisan Respond, Innovate, Succeed, and Empower (RISE) Act (S. 3589). This bill would require colleges to accept high school IEPs and 504 plans as valid documentation for accommodations—sparing families from paying thousands out-of-pocket for costly, redundant college re-evaluations. The bill advanced unanimously, 22-0.
• Labor Force Participation Holds Steady Near Historic Highs: The latest nTIDE Jobs Report revealed that employment among adults with disabilities remains locked at a historically high post-pandemic plateau. The employment-to-population ratio held steady at 38.0%, demonstrating that our community’s connection to the labor force is holding resilient despite broader macroeconomic shifts.
• State Level Funding Victories for Support Workforce: State-level grassroots advocacy is yielding tangible legislative results. For instance, recent budget updates show states committing over $200 million in combined state and federal matching funds specifically to raise rates for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) and Personal Care Services—a vital win to stabilize the caregiving workforce that our families rely on daily.

💡 Stella’s Tip of the Month

“Prepare Your ‘One-Page Student Profile’ Before Day One.” Before the first school bell rings, draft a single-page visual overview of your child to hand directly to their new teachers, aides, and therapists.

Include a picture, 3 core strengths (their “Glimmers”), 2 main triggers/concerns (their “Fires”), and their top sensory or communication supports. While school staff may take weeks to fully digest a 30-page IEP document, a scannable one-pager builds an immediate personal connection and sets a collaborative tone right from the start.

Need help drafting a crisp, professional one-page summary for your child’s teachers? Use our free tool to build your custom fact sheet at AskStellaNow.org/resources.