Postsecondary education (PSE) programs for students with intellectual disability should be built around a course of study leading to a meaningful credential. Typically, programs award a non-degree credential available only to students who are attending the program. In addition to or instead of these program-specific credentials, students in these…

Although varying among and within the states, the percentage of students with 504 plans is steadily and significantly increasing as a national average. Although the professional literature addresses the legal standards for eligibility for 504 plans, it has not provided up-to-date information to practitioners as to the legal standard for the…

Over the last decade, there has been ample evidence reporting the lack of high-quality and compliant Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) in the United States. This problem has many consequences, including poor student outcomes and failure to follow legal due process. Despite these consequences, research has not thoroughly examined the…

Despite legal mandates and evidence of predictors of success in transition, there continue to be poor outcomes for students with disabilities as compared to students without disabilities. This article describes the first steps of a quality improvement project, including a needs assessment and description of the current constraints of transition…

In these challenging times of cutbacks in public funding for social services programs, parents and grass roots organizations continue to make a difference in their communities with innovative initiatives that are enhancing the lives of people with developmental and physical disabilities. In New York, a track team of speedsters with disabilities is…

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…

Chester County (Pennsylvania) is described in terms of its demography and its school system; its special education program is also reviewed. Placement and program organization are outlined for the trainable mentally retarded, brain injured, socially and emotionally disturbed, and physically, visually, or auditorially handicapped. The need for…

A project was conducted to continue to provide adult educators in Pennsylvania with information about adults with learning differences and techniques for their instruction. Five new training sessions were developed as part of the project: (1) accommodating adults with learning disabilities; (2) if they think differently, shouldn't they study…

The document--80% of which consists of appendixes--presents the final report of Project AID (Assistance for IEP Development), designed to assist schools in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, in the initiation of the individualized education program (IEP) process for handicapped students. Intensive training programs were devised for personnel in each…

Intended to alert industrial arts teachers, teacher educators, school administrators, and industrial arts supervisors to the importance of a strong safety program, this guide provides the instructional resources for instituting safety instruction in the public schools, for the inservice training of industrial arts teachers, and for the education…

A program was developed to provide long-term loans of high technology equipment to severely handicapped students who require such assistance to meet educational goals. Coordinated by the Pennsylvania Special Education Assistive Device Center (ADC), the program enables handicapped students to communicate, to access computers for instruction, and to…

This manual is a practical guide for use by schools of education which must comply with the Pennsylvania Department of Education Standards for Approval of Teacher Certification Programs. These standards require that competencies needed to educate students in least restrictive environments be incorporated into undergraduate and graduate degree…

Highlights of the findings of eleven program evaluation and planning committees within the division of special education in Pennsylvania and options in the future implementation of each program area are summarized. The committee had the following purposes: (1) to revise the structure of long range and short range planning within the division of…

A project was conducted to provide staff development workshops about adults with learning problems to agencies throughout Pennsylvania. Workshops and accompanying guides on nine topics ranging from understanding learning differences, problems, and disabilities to alternative instructional techniques were developed. Workshops were conducted…

A family literacy program was developed for families containing young children and learning-challenged adults whose limited reading skills made it impossible for them to read aloud to their children. The program's primary objective was to upgrade the parents' reading skills and knowledge of children's literature. The program was staffed by a…