In this Information Research Cadre, Teresa Blythe responds to the following research question: For those states that have residential schools for the Blind/VI and Deaf/HI students, have they developed policies and procedures for residential placement of these students? To develop this response Blythe conducted web research utilizing numerous…

At the 2011 Office of Special Education Leadership Mega Conference in Crystal City, VA, demographer Jim Johnson, of the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise and the University of North Carolina, discussed the changing demographics of the US, coining one of his six observations on the changes ahead as the "silver tsunami…

Little is known about the implementation of assistive technology (AT) services for students in rural areas. This study investigated the AT service delivery in 10 rural districts across six states. The results indicated that students use AT across functional areas, but considerably fewer number of devices than do those not living in rural areas. AT…

A policy forum held May 11-13, 2011 to provide input from stakeholders to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) focused on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) accountability reporting system known as the State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR) process. Participants discussed their assessment of the…

An in-school suspension program in Virginia is characterized by individualized academic and/or behavioral intervention. (Author/MLF)

This study examined the perceptions of secondary IEP team members (i.e., administrators, special education teachers, and general education teachers) from one Virginia school district regarding the diploma decision-making process for students with disabilities. Using a qualitative, multi-case approach incorporating three phases of analysis (i.e.,…

The Individual Education Plan (IEP) process plays a vital role in the instructional process of the individual with ELN (exceptional leaning needs). The IEP process helps to level the playing field for students with ELN against those students that do not have diagnosed learning problems. From the parents to the students to the IEP staff, they all…

With support from the John Templeton Foundation, the authors held a Summit on Acceleration at The University of Iowa in May 2003. They invited distinguished scholars and educators from around the country to help them formulate a national report on acceleration. This first volume of the Templeton Report on acceleration trumpets an alarm to the…

With the heightened emphasis of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 on inclusion in the general curriculum and meeting the associated standards, assistive technology (AT) has become a necessary consideration to ensure a free appropriate public education and to promote education in the least restrictive environment…

This report describes results and conclusions of a third-party evaluation of a 1-year demonstration project in Alexandria (Virginia) to develop "safety nets" for 12 people with disabilities who were either unemployed or with a history of unemployment. An Employment Security Specialist worked with these individuals and their families to:…

The reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, December 3, 2004, (IDEA '04) and its implementing federal regulations, October 13, 2006, prompted the need to revise Virginia's special education regulations. Input was received from a Stakeholders Group that included school personnel, parents, consumers,…

Project UNITE (Unified Intercommunity Transition and Empowerment for Youth and Young Adults with Disabilities) is a federally funded transition systems change grant in Virginia which attempts to integrate services among educational systems, human service agencies, communities, families, and consumers with disabilities who are involved in…

Describes how one elementary school implemented a plan to involve students with moderate learning disabilities in writing their own IEP programs. Asserts that process of student self-advocacy results in more active learners. (PKP)

The purpose of this study was (1) to determine the frequency in which school social workers in Virginia engage in and prefer to engage in social work related activities and (2) to determine if the frequency in which the social work related activities the school social workers engage in is related to select variables. After a comprehensive review…

The article describes how a Virginia urban school system implemented an outcome-oriented work transition process with approximately 230 trainable or severely/profoundly handicapped students (ages 16-21). The article describes the system, students, and staff; developing a formal transition process; the individualized transition plan; and the job…