This article presents an interview with Camilla P. Benbow, the Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College, a position she has held since 1998. Benbow began her academic career at Johns Hopkins University and subsequently taught at Iowa State University, where she was named…

The authors encourage caution in the implementation of Response to Intervention and dispel the false hopes that Response to Intervention will solve many of education's challenges. Outlined in this article are the reasons why Response to Intervention cannot be the solution to the identification of students for special education, why it can't…

Today, English language learners (ELLs)--students whose primary language is other than English--are the fastest-growing major school population in the United States. Between 2000-01 and 2010-11, the number of these students, whose level of English proficiency is not sufficient to support learning in a regular English language classroom, rose 18…

A growing chorus of people are saying that some school districts are overzealous in categorizing students as English-language learners (ELLs) in the aim of complying with federal and state laws to ensure that children of immigrants get extra help with English. They contend that the information requested on the home-language survey that parents are…

Working in four communities, Casey Foundation/Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) Alliance on Racial Equity (the Alliance) have developed a Racial Equity Scorecard for measuring disproportionality at key decision points for use in impacting disproportionality in the child welfare system. The four communities include King County,…

The report summarizes efforts of a 3-year project to locate handicapped or high risk preschool children in the Keystone (Iowa) Area Education Agency as required by Childfind mandates of P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. Included in the report are sample news releases, ads, posters and letters to parents. (CL)

The authors focused on the experiences of teachers involved in two diversity initiatives at Iowa State University in order to demonstrate that such initiatives succeed only if they are characterized by the mutuality of learning that teachers and students share, which is an intrinsic part of transformative education. Multicultural teaching…

The report, developed by a special Iowa task force, examined issues of definition, criteria, and identification procedures for learning disabilities as a point of departure for the examination of current practices affecting learning disabled students in Iowa. The committee's working definintion of learning disabilities is presented as a basis for…

The monograph describes the first 5 years' operation of the Iowa Infant Follow-up Program which stresses the early detection and treatment of children at risk for developing disabling conditions. The program has six components: (1) implementing a statewide process for identifying and tracking infants and children at risk for later developmental…

Representatives of several states met to identify basic elements of a tracking system designed to ensure that disabled and at-risk infants and their families receive continuous and appropriate services to improve health and developmental outcome. Discussants explored six clusters of questions concerning the following: realistic goals and…

This article describes the evolution of Iowa's model of low vision care for students with visual impairments. It reviews the benefits of a transdisciplinary team approach to providing low vision services for children with visual impairments, including a decrease in the number of students requiring large-print materials and related costs. (Contains…

The report presents results from a survey of four states (Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, and Nebraska) regarding mandates for the provision of special education services for children below 3 years of age. An overview of each state's mandate contains a brief description of the law and how it came to be; an explanaton of the way responsibilities are…

This executive summary of a final report describes activities and accomplishments of Iowa's 3-year program to improve the quality of educational and community-based services for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with deaf-blindness. The project provided technical assistance to schools, area education agencies, and other service providers. It…

This final report describes the Iowa Deaf-Blind Project, which provided technical assistance on a statewide basis in the form of information dissemination, training, and consultation to local school districts, area education agencies, institutions, and organizations providing early intervention, early identification, education, transition,…

A computerized referral management system, the Arrowhead Student Information System, has enhanced communication among special education staff members in rural Iowa. The system serves a 45-district intermediate level service unit which identifies and serves children from birth to 21 years who require special education from a student and preschool…