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discrimination

School screen bans risk isolating millions of students with disabilities

Illustration accompanying article: School screen bans risk isolating millions of students with disabilities
  • Ninth grader Soraya Martin, who has dyslexia, uses speech-to-text and audiobooks to excel academically, but a new school-wide phone-ban policy at her California high school has disrupted her accommodations.
  • More than 8 million U.S. students with disabilities rely on assistive technology, including screen readers, speech-to-text, and audiobooks, according to education advocates.
  • At least three states — Alabama, Tennessee, and Utah — have laws limiting screens that take effect as early as July 2026, with some making exceptions for assistive technology.
  • Lindsay Jones, CEO of CAST, an education research nonprofit, said the speed of state-level screen restrictions has left educators and disabled communities unprepared.
  • The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in late May issued a surgeon general's advisory warning of "harms of screen use" for children's health and education.
  • Disability advocates also point to a shrunken U.S. Department of Education under the Trump administration as less equipped to enforce civil rights related to assistive technology access.
 4 MIN READ

Democrats back Platner for Maine Senate despite sexting disclosure

Illustration accompanying article: Democrats back Platner for Maine Senate despite sexting disclosure
  • Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner exchanged sexually explicit texts with women outside his marriage, according to reports from the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and The Guardian, which his campaign has confirmed.
  • Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Bernie Sanders publicly reaffirmed their support for Platner on Tuesday after meetings in Washington.
  • The sexting disclosure follows earlier controversies over bigoted Reddit posts from 2013 to 2021 and a Nazi-style tattoo that Platner said he got while drinking as a Marine and later covered up.
  • Platner’s campaign has drawn national progressive endorsements and strong fundraising, but Maine Democrats have expressed concerns about his ability to defeat Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November.
  • The Democratic primary is scheduled for June 9; Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who suspended her own Senate campaign, remains on the ballot.
 3 MIN READ
Illustration accompanying article: White House aliens.gov website fuses X-Files style with immigration enforcement