The Individualized Education Program (IEP) is the heart of providing special education services to students with disabilities. It is a complex document that is supposed to include several required components. IEP teams are required to be composed of certain individuals, including "a representative of the district who is qualified to provide…

This article addresses the inclusion of English learners with disabilities, including those with significant cognitive disabilities, in state and district assessments. The authors provide background information on who these students are and the relationship between academic English language development, content learning, and assessment. The…

In this brief, the perspectives of special education administrators from Massachusetts and Indiana, who have been engaged in college-based transition services (CBTS), are shared. It summarizes the conversations they had during a fall 2019 Think College webinar and a follow-up discussion in summer 2020. Each administrator has had extensive…

Principals in the United States are responsible for creating educational environments that enable students, including those with disabilities, to achieve both academic and postschool goals. Unfortunately, many principals lack the preparation necessary to effectively lead special education programs. To support principals and ensure that students…

Despite encouraging changes in the expectations of programming for persons with moderate to severe intellectual disability (MSD), data suggest that programs for these individuals are still lacking in several critical areas. Building administrators play a key role in promoting high quality programs for students with MSD within local schools but may…

An administrator, broadly conceived, is a person who has authority to lead and manage people, practices, materials, and policies in an educational unit. Dan Tannacito shows teachers the pathway to becoming English language program administrators (ELPAs) and the myriad benefits they can derive. Most may be surprised to see that they are already on…

In response to legislative mandates that schools use evidence-based instructional practices, the National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center has identified evidence-based practices and predictors in the area of secondary transition for high school students with disabilities. This article provides an overview of practices and…

Specifically explains procedures and techniques necessary to be in compliance with the Individualized Educational Program of the Handicapped Children's Act. Also describes principal's role in mainstreaming handicapped students. (LD)

Including students with special needs in the general education classroom is being widely promoted in the public schools. This practice places a heavy burden on the general educator who is often inadequately trained to meet the needs of such a diverse classroom. Co-teaching has been one of the support strategies used to address the challenges and…

A combined discipline counseling approach treats both symptoms and causes of discipline problems, while also providing accountability for behavior. Over the five-year period that this approach has been in operation at the Bridge Street Junior High in Wheeling (West Virginia), the number of repeat offenders has declined. (WD)

Administering and supervising special education programs and personnel may be daunting tasks for school leaders. Students and families who warrant the access to special education services present unique and complex needs that make administrative decisions anything but universal and simplistic, especially in regards to foster care populations. The…

For many students with disabilities to be successful learners in the general education curriculum, they must receive supplemental aids and services. Assistive Technology commonly referred to as AT, fits both the definition of supplemental aids as well as related services for students with disabilities. Assistive Technology services and devices…

The Education for All Handicapped Children Act was reauthorized as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990. When reauthorized in 2004 it maintained the IDEA acronym although it is now the Individuals with Disabilities Education "Improvement" Act. The federal government further demonstrated its emphasis on…

Although Pennsylvania has long made programming for all handicapped children mandatory, the passage of P.L. 94-142 has necessitated some changes even in this state. The major hurdle in the implementation of such a law is confusion and misinterpretation. Educators fear that the handicapped may be dumped into regular classes in an arbitrary manner.…

This article explains how administrators make it possible for their staff to initiate and implement advocacy efforts on behalf of students with special needs. A step-by-step series of actions and decision points are described to support the implementation of an innovative student-led Individualized Education Program process. (Contains 7…