Functional behavior assessments (FBAs) and behavior intervention plans (BIPs) are critical components in the education of students with, or at risk for, emotional disturbance (ED). The purpose of this article is to compare the legal requirements with the professional requirements for FBAs and BIPs. The comparison is first according to the…

The passing of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act---later renamed the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act---mandated that schools and districts ensure that all available education services were comparable between students with disabilities and general education students. This mandate led to students with disabilities and…

Qualitative metasynthesis is an intentional and coherent approach to analyzing data across qualitative studies. It is a process that enables researchers to identify a specific research question and then search for, select, appraise, summarize, and combine qualitative evidence to address the research question. This process uses rigorous qualitative…

To date, there has been little research into the school's practices that influence caregiver involvement in the education of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) that gives voice to both families and teachers, and little research has used a mixed-methods approach. In contrast to those studies that mainly concentrate on qualitative inquiry…

This multi-method study examined (a) preparation and licensure practices of the 50 states with respect to students with low-incidence sensory disabilities (LISD) and (b) the experience of Ohio school districts (including "community schools") in providing services to students with LISD. The 50-state phase of the study used document review…

It has been nearly four decades since the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (1975), yet some of the most fundamental issues still remain. Reauthorized in 1997, and again in 2004, as the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), this act requires all children with disabilities be offered educational opportunities in the…

Mandates such as No Child Left Behind (2001) and Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) shifted the emphasis of instruction to include skills that access the general curriculum for students with moderate to severe intellectual disability. The purpose of this study was to describe changes in literacy instruction of teachers…

Federal special education and accountability policies requires that educators individualize instruction for students with disabilities, while simultaneously ensuring that the vast majority of these students meet age-based grade-level standards and assessment targets. In this paper, we examine this dynamic interplay between policies through…

As education continues to progress schools are constantly seeking innovative ways to cultivate and enhance achievement for all students. As a result many public schools are pushing toward the inclusion model. This model includes co-taught instruction to meet the many needs of special education students. This research study was implemented to…

Nearly four decades have passed since the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) ensured access to public education for students with disabilities in the United States. During the years following its introduction, there was a growing recognition that helping students, especially students with disabilities, in their transitions from…

The focus of this study was to explore the occupational therapy consultation process used with students on the autistic spectrum attending their regular school. Individual, in-depth interviews with senior occupational therapists were employed to collect the data. Grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss, 1987; Strauss & Corbin,…

Students with disabilities have more barriers to independent living than other student populations. The current study examines the likelihood of independence for young people with disabilities by extending a model developed by the Heal and Rusch (1995) that used the National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS) from 1992. The current study employs…

The passage of current educational legislation such as the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" (IDEA) and the more recent "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) Act has increased the desire for greater inclusion of students with disabilities in regular classrooms. Serving the need of all students in inclusive classrooms…