The purpose of the White Paper is to provide additional information for and guidance to the federal government, professional organizations, practitioners, and the public. The Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA) is hopeful that this document will facilitate legal, regulatory, policy, and training decisions, and ultimately, service…

In this paper, we describe the design, development, and initial validity evidence for the Screening to Assign Accommodations Tool (SAAT). The purpose of the SAAT is to identify students for whom construct irrelevant variance (CIV) might obscure measurement of their knowledge, skills, and abilities in mathematics. Once students are identified as…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of using the Observational Checklist of Conversational Skills to facilitate early teacher referral of 37 primary-level children suspected of having language problems and 37 age-matched peers. Twenty-five of the at-risk group scored at least 1.5 standard deviations below the mean; 27 were subsequently referred…

The Student Descriptor Scale (SDS) was developed as a validation measure to determine whether students described and counted by states as "severely handicapped" were, indeed, students with severe disabilities. The SDS addresses nine characteristics: intellectual disability, health impairment, need for toileting assistance, upper torso motor…

This study reviewed 1137 students' records from 25 school districts to determine if there is a possible conflict between Wisconsin's learning disabilities (LD) eligibility criteria and the federal definition under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It also surveyed student evaluation and placement teams concerning their application…

A Michigan task force examined existing and needed services for students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), to assist school districts in developing services and to create a systematic plan for statewide information dissemination regarding referral, assessment, identification, intervention strategies, and legal mandates.…

This document was developed as a result of 1993 and 1994 policy forums on strategies to address disproportionate representation of minority students in special education. Part 1 is a synthesis of major themes and recommendations resulting from the first forum. Part 2 is a prioritization of 35 recommendations arising from that forum. The following…