All school districts have children attending who have special dietary needs due to a disability or a food allergy or intolerance. In order for these children to attend school, their dietary needs must be addressed since they are unable to eat meals prepared for the general student population. There is federal legislation which provides guidance…

There is a process within the special education program that directly links a child's educational program with their plans for the future. It is called a Transition Plan and is part of the Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Transition services are a coordinated set of activities for a child with a disability designed to be used within a…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the federal law that secures special education services for children with disabilities from the time they are born until they graduate from high school. The law was reauthorized by Congress in 2004, prompting a series of changes in the way special education services are implemented. These…

Sometimes parents just do not know where to begin once their child has been diagnosed as deaf or hearing impaired. This booklet helps answer some of the questions these parents might have. A resource section has been included for parents and professionals for future reference. One of the most important things to remember is that, once a child has…

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). The state requirements are referred to as the Ohio Operating Standards for the Education of Children with Disabilities (Ohio Operating Standards). IDEA…

Accommodations are intended to address student academic and behavioral deficits by reducing obstacles that impede learning and accurately measuring skills. There is limited research, however, pertaining to the types of accommodations students receive and their selection, particularly among those with emotional and behavioral problems. This is a…

When adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) demonstrate impairment in academic performance, school professionals have the option of using strategies that reduce expectations (formally or informally), using interventions that facilitate skill development in the student, or both. Because there are unintended consequences of…

Despite broad consensus that a research-to-practice gap exists in the education of students with autism, the extent of this gap has not been well studied. We surveyed 99 teachers in Ohio about their highest priority goals for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), their approach for addressing these goals, the degree to which students had…

Transition planning is a mandated component of individualized education plans (IEPs) designed to ensure successful transition to adult life for students with disabilities. Students with social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) needs experience poor post-school outcomes, suggesting a need for more effective transition planning. This study evaluated…

To better support districts and preschool program providers, the Ohio Department of Education's Office of Early Learning and School Readiness is providing answers to the following frequently asked questions pertaining to Ohio Administrative Code 3301-51-11. This document is divided into sections aligning with each section of the rule. This…

In this study, students with and without disabilities (n = 816) in general and special education settings in Grades 9 through 12 were participants in a quasi-experimental design to examine the main effects of an online curriculum intervention with transition-related content on career readiness. Setting and teacher characteristics were examined for…

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…

Construct-irrelevant cognitive complexity of some items in the statewide grade-level assessments may impose performance barriers for students with disabilities who are ineligible for alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards. This has spurred research into whether items can be modified to reduce complexity without affecting…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the federal law that secures special education services for children with disabilities from the time they are born until they graduate from high school. The law was reauthorized by Congress in 2004, prompting a series of changes in the way special education services are implemented. These…

An IEP is an Individualized Education Program. When a child is identified with a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) a child has a right to a Free, Appropriate, Public Education (FAPE). For a child to receive FAPE there has to be an IEP developed in order for the child to progress in the general education…