By Jill Nolin | Editor
“For me it’s devastating. Because we have fought so hard to ensure there is equal access. No matter where you live, how much money you make, if you’re Black, if you’re white, if you’re in foster care – it doesn’t matter. We fought so hard, and we’re – it’s like falling off the cliff backwards.” - Anna Bullard, a longtime advocate for applied behavior analysis therapy
Ava Bullard, who is the namesake of a 2015 Georgia law, was diagnosed with severe autism as a toddler. Bullard graduated in December from the University of Georgia with a major in biology and now has a job in the medical field. Photo courtesy of Ava Bullard
HEALTHCARE
By Ariel Hart
Krystina McQueen’s severely autistic foster son – who is prone to biting and hitting — has made big strides in his few weeks in specialized behavior therapy. He’s in it at the crucial time to learn basic skills, as he’s about to turn 3.
But last week the Hall County foster mom got a call from the therapy provider. The business said it may not be able to afford treating him, after Georgia Medicaid abruptly slashed the reimbursement rate by 30% in their policies for foster kids.
Her provider has already stopped accepting new patients at that rate, she was told. Other providers are doing the same, or have even dropped existing patients.
President Donald Trump gestures as he exits the stage during a midterm election rally at the Choctaw Event Center on Oct. 1, 2026, in Durant, Oklahoma. (Photo by Jessica Tobias/For Oklahoma Voice)
VOTING
By Jonathan Shorman
When Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin declared in September that Immigration and Customs Enforcement could serve warrants on individuals at polling places this fall, officials in Denver, a liberal city where roughly 14% of residents are foreign-born, quickly sued.
“Every day we find new things to be astonished about but I think that we just want residents to not be afraid to vote because that’s ultimately what the president was after,” Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, a Democrat, said in an interview.
Johnston and other local and state officials across the country are bracing for possible federal election interference from now through Nov. 3 — even as they remain unsure of what will actually happen.
Student backpacks hang in their cubbies at a school in Alaska. At least 30 states have opted into a federal program allowing individuals to receive tax credits for donations to scholarship organizations that might offer tuition help for private schools or extra tutoring. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
EDUCATION
By Robbie Sequeira
The U.S. Department of the Treasury released new guidance Thursday for participating states, scholarship-granting organizations and taxpayers as the federal scholarship tax credit program prepares to take effect in January.
Created through President Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending law in 2025, the Education Freedom Tax Credit program allows individuals to claim a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit of up to $1,700 for donations to certain scholarship-granting organizations (known as SGOs) and taxpayers can contribute to an eligible organization regardless of where that taxpayer lives.
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