As students progress through school they spend more time reading to obtain information. Reading to learn can be a struggle for any student, but it tends to be a bigger obstacle for students with disabilities. Using text-to-speech applications and extensions is one way to assist students with disabilities who struggle to independently complete…

Anxiety disorders are commonly occurring among children and are associated with increased risk for poor educational outcomes. However, little is known about the specific supports and accommodations provided to anxious children in schools. This study examines reports of school functioning and school-based supports and accommodations among a sample…

In this article, a music teacher educator and a music therapy clinician and educator discuss special education policy and arts instruction at the district level. To illustrate the gulf between federal and local policies with regard to exceptional learners and arts instruction, we examine the intersections of music therapy and music education with…

This study reports findings from studies examining potential read-aloud accommodations on standardized reading comprehension assessments for students with decoding difficulties. Three types of accommodations were evaluated: question stems and answer options read aloud; question stems, answer options, and proper nouns read aloud; and full…

Beginning in 2002, with the election of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City's Department of Education undertook an unprecedented overhaul of the largest school district in the United States. Over the next 10 years the Department of Education closed more than 25 large, underperforming high schools, and created almost 200 new, small high schools,…

Historically, students with disabilities graduate from high school at lower rates than peers without disabilities. As a result, many students with disabilities also have poor postsecondary or adult outcomes, such as unemployment or employment in lowpaying jobs. This state spotlight presents strategies the West Virginia Department of Education…

The goal of this study was to examine the professional development experiences of two contrastive participants while they were creating standards-based individualized education plan (IEP) goals using a virtual world called TeacherSim. Two specific focuses of the study were on how special educators engaged with the task of creating standards-based…

Assessment is an important part of an overall quality educational program and is, in fact, an integral part of improving classroom instruction. The purpose of educational assessments is to provide an academic check- up and to give educators and parents meaningful information on what students know and can do, and how well they are progressing…

This report is the results of an online survey of likely 2022 voters, conducted August 30-September 12, 2022. The data show that voters and parents alike have a clear vision of their priorities for education and schools, school funding, and parental involvement. [This report was prepared with Lake Research Partners. For "Across the Aisle:…

Situated in the context of U.S. educational outcomes, education policy in California, and UNESCO's definition of inclusive education, we examine how schools have addressed student diversity. Methods of identifying students with disabilities are not adequately designed to identify English learners with disabilities. In part to address that problem,…

We conducted an exploratory descriptive qualitative study on extant data of responses to the state's open-ended question from their annual post-school outcomes survey: "If you could tell your school one thing, what would you tell them (make a suggestion to help better prepare current students for life after high school)?" Respondents…

We suggest that special education could die among common myths about it. That is, special education could cease to exist, at least as we know it, because its true nature and requirements for its functioning are misunderstood. We discuss only 12 common myths about special education, recognizing that there are many more myths and that the ones we…

In 2015, the United States Department of Education awarded an Enhanced Assessment Initiative grant to the Data Informed Accessibility--Making Optimal Needs-based Decisions (DIAMOND) project to create professional development resources for educators who have to make decisions about accessibility features and accommodations. This study presents…

Special education, for students ages 3 to 21, is guided by federal and state requirements. The federal requirements are referred to as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA protects the rights of students with disabilities and the rights of their parents. The state requirements are referred to as the Ohio Operating Standards…

Transition education is a distinctive aspect of special education that extends well beyond the boundaries of the school building, engages partners from all corners of the local community, and addresses so many different life domains. In the midst of a pandemic, creative strategies are needed to equip students with the skills, knowledge,…