Friday catch-up notes—7 August 2026
What about stories that didn't show up as a full post this week?
Editor’s note: This post contains snippets about stories, resources, and observations that the SET authors didn’t quite develop into full-blown posts over the past week. I’m hoping we can catch up with our in-boxes, but we didn’t want you, Dear Readers, to miss them. Some of them may later appear as a part (or parcel) of a full-blown post.—JohnL
Over on the fine Sped Law Blog, Mitchell Yell dropped a post about women who sued the State of Georgia because they were being kept in more restrictive environments than places in their communities where they could function appropriately, as implied by the US Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision of 1999. The US Department of Justice responded that the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 did not convey the protections of the Olmstead decision and, furthermore, that the US government would not reply of previous guidance from Olmstead in enforcing requirements for least restrictive placements. In “Trump Administration Interpretation of the Supreme Court’s Ruling in Olmstead,” Mitch provide.s greater detail and additional resources about this important case. Although it is about adults who are not in schools, the changes in how laws are being interpreted could affect children with disabilities in schools.
Over on Disability Scoop, Shaun Heasley dropped observations about misrepresentations of intellectual disability in AI systems, including ChatGPT, Claude, and others. In “AI Has Ideas About Intellectual Disabilities. It’s Not Always Accurate,” published 30 July 2026, he reported about a study in which the AI agents represented individuals with ID in paternalistic, ways.
Reporting for News4Jax, a Florida television station, Aleesia Hatcher told the story of another child with autism who drowned in a pond near his home. The child was reported missing in the morning of 5 August 2026 and was found in the pond hours later, according to Ms. Hatcher’s report, “JSO says missing 7-year-old with autism has been found dead in a pond, no foul play suspected.” can be seen on YouTube.