Jonaki Mehta
Jonaki Mehta is an LA-based NPR correspondent covering education with a focus on students with learning differences. Mehta has covered , the into general education classrooms, and the .
Before joining NPR's Education Desk, Mehta was a producer for All Things Considered. She has covered breaking news stories around the country about reproductive rights, hurricanes, deadly wildfires, and mass protests. She was part of the award-winning team that told stories from Taiwan, exploring issues of identity as the island faced a consequential election. She also produced stories in Ukraine in the days leading up to Russia's invasion. As the show's west-coast producer, she covered nature, culture, and music across California 鈥� including as a founding member of the show's "First-time Grammy nominees" series.
Mehta attended undergrad at UCLA where she found her love for radio stories, hosting a news and culture talk-show. She has worked for Marketplace, LAist, and a number of publications as a freelance producer and reporter. She was once a kindergarten teacher in Oakland, California, which instilled in her the utmost respect for educators.
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Siblings Cody and Kaleigh Brendle have grown up with the right to community integration. Now, they worry those protections for people with disabilities like them are being eroded. -
The disability community has long worried about what would happen if special education oversight moved from the Education Department to another agency. Now, those moves are becoming more real. -
The Education Department has long collected civil rights data about things like bullying, harassment and disability services in schools, but it hasn't made the latest information public. -
Kids with autism can be 160 times more likely than other children to drown. Florida is dedicating state money to a program that prioritizes swim lessons for these kids. -
Federal law requires most museums and other buildings to be accessible to people with disabilities. But access to what's actually inside is often still limited. -
The moves to the federal departments of Health and Human Services and Justice, respectively, would further dismantle an agency that President Donald Trump has vowed to close. -
Some students with disabilities rely on assistive technology to learn, and they worry it could be swept up in the movement to get screens out of schools. -
A fast-growing number of special educators nationwide are using AI to create customized education plans. Despite the risks, some research shows it could improve the quality of teachers' work. -
Higher education is especially reliant on computers and phones, but accessibility for people with disabilities has often been forgotten. A new federal rule could change that. -
All children, regardless of immigration status, have the right to a free K-12 public education. But without birthright citizenship, access to schools and colleges could get complicated. -
NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with the singer-songwriter Bill Callahan about his new album My Days of 58.
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What does the Democratic leader see for himself in the years to come?
