All students deserve an education that prepares them for postsecondary success and a lifetime of unlimited opportunity, and Louisiana educators are leading the nation in raising the expectations for what all students can learn and achieve through designing and delivering standards-aligned instruction. Despite this overall progress, the performance…

The 2017 Supreme Court decision "Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District" highlighted the importance of monitoring students' progress toward appropriately challenging individualized educational program (IEP) annual goals and making changes to students' educational programs when needed. The process for setting an IEP goal should be…

As a parent of a young child who is in an early intervention (EI) or early childhood special education (ECSE) program, you want to be sure these services are helping your child develop and learn. These services are designed to make the most of each child's potential, as well as to strengthen the family's ability to help their child. But how can…

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…

This practical guide has been developed to help facilitate collaboration and build effective partnerships at the local level between local educational agency (LEA) and vocational rehabilitation (VR) personnel. Unfortunately, there is no magic formula that will instantly create these partnerships; however, there are proven strategies and processes…

This self-study guide provides state and local education agencies and schools with a tool to assess implementation of career readiness practices across a district or secondary school and to plan improvements. It is arranged by implementation areas that have been found to be important to career readiness efforts based on a review of the literature…

The "Practical Guide to Blended/Remote Learning and Children with Disabilities" was created by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in response to the situation created by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020. However, it is applicable to other circumstances when blended or remote learning might be necessary,…

The purpose of this brief is to help families and educators understand the right of students with disabilities who need accessible educational materials to receive these materials in a timely manner. This right is based on provisions in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as well as in the disability civil rights statutes…

Questions often arise about how accessible educational materials (AEM) might be included in Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). The two purposes of this article are to (1) help families and educators understand the importance of including AEM in the IEPs of students who require them, and (2) to discuss locations in the IEP where it may be…

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…

Individuals who serve as surrogate parents fulfill an important role in the life of a child with a disability. Surrogates have become increasingly important in special education because a growing number of children are living outside their family for some period of their lives. Like parents, surrogates of children with disabilities are granted a…

All students deserve an education that prepares them for postsecondary success and a lifetime of unlimited opportunity, and Louisiana educators are leading the nation in raising the expectations for what all students can learn and achieve through designing and delivering standards-aligned instruction. Despite this overall progress, the performance…

Every child is unique and learns in different ways. Some children are identified as needing special education services to support his or her learning at school. Parents can play a major role in shaping the services a child receives. This guidebook has been written for parents, guardians, and surrogate parents of a child (ages 3 to 21 or…

Developed for California's local education agencies, this resource identifies six components an infrastructure needs to have in place to operate a well-functioning special education program. The publication also provides a tool for examining the degree to which these components are in place in your system. The results of that examination can help…

This guide is designed to help advocates--including biological and adoptive parents, resource parents, adult students in foster care, and service providers--understand and advocate for the educational rights of children in New Jersey's foster care system. The guide explains the requirements of federal and state laws that particularly affect these…