Creating accessible instruction has been a subject of debate and lawsuits since the Civil Rights Movement. Examples include "Mills v. Board of Education" in 1972 discussed the 14th Amendment of equal rights in public K-12 education; instances involving extracurricular after-school programs, such as the YMCA Middle Tennessee Agreement for…

Many school districts have adopted commercially available software or templates for electronic Individualized Education Program (IEP) development. These programs have useful features that allow Individualized Education Programs to be electronically developed and reliably stored for each student. Although the program features are designed to…

The overarching goal of this special issue is to consider peer victimization involvement and corresponding interventions for youth with disabilities from a social dynamics perspective that situates risks for being a victim, perpetrator, or both within a person-in-context framework. The focus here is not on a specific age range or type of…

Between 2011 and 2013, the Department for Education (DfE) in England made £3.3 million available to support the development of opportunities for young disabled people to access high-quality physical education and school sport. The DfE with the Youth Sport Trust (YST) developed a range of initiatives to help meet this aim, including Project…

Since the reauthorization of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 2004, standards-based individualized education plans (IEPs) have been an expectation for serving students with disabilities in the K-12 public school setting. Nearly a decade after the mandates calling for standards-based IEPs, special educators still struggle…

As of January 1, 2013, 34 states and the District of Columbia have been granted waivers from certain provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Part of each successful flexibility application was a state accountability system that could identify priority schools (the lowest performing 5% of Title 1 schools) and focus schools…

This resource conveys policies, procedures, and guidelines that support the delivery of special education services in British Columbia's (Canada) public schools. It was originally published in 1995 (ED414703), following an extensive provincial Special Education Review (1993-94). The purpose of this manual is to provide a single point of reference…

Over 6.5 million youth and their families are eligible for early intervention or special education services (Data Accountability Center, 2011) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA). The principal mechanism by which goals, objectives, services, and placements are determined for Part B of the IDEA are Individualized…

One of the primary challenges in developing effective accountability systems is determining how best to include students with disabilities. The purpose of this paper is to report on the initial implementation of one option for including students with disabilities into the accountability system in the United States. In 2007, federal guidance…

As the identification of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) continues to increase unabated, there exists a need to provide school personnel with information they can use for the purpose of designing and implementing appropriate comprehensive programs for these students. Accordingly, this article identifies and discusses comprehensive…

This report by the Council of the Great City Schools to the Rochester City School District presents the organization's findings and recommendations for improving the special education program in the school system, placing special emphasis on the organizational structure of the program, accountability, and how the instructional program generally…

Solve serious behavior challenges in K-8 classrooms with this easy-to-use book, the first practical guide to the research-proven Prevent-Teach-Reinforce (PTR) model. Developed by some of the most respected authorities on positive behavior support, this innovative model gives school-based teams a five-step plan for reducing problems unresolved by…

This guide is designed as a reference for District and School personnel working with English learners (ELs). The content of the guide represents a compilation of information, examples, and resources. This guide is a living document and subject to frequent updates. It is recommended to review the document online rather than printing a hard copy.

This article focuses on special education students in public schools, that is, those students in particular who have special needs and challenges in learning and/or development. More specifically, and beyond the introduction, this article is divided into several sections. The following section focuses on a brief history of Special Education in…

The church has a great responsibility to minister and provide a place where children can experience the love of God. The spiritual journey of children is often nurtured in the Sunday school room, Bible class, or some other church setting. Under the best of circumstances, this journey is a formable task. One must consider the challenges that arise…