The Office of Early Learning and School Readiness provides technical assistance and resources for our partners working with families, preschool staff and communities to meet the individual needs of preschool children with disabilities. The goal of this manual is to offer information to preschool programs and school districts that are responsible…

Special educators working in self-contained settings for students with extensive behavioral needs face high rates of teacher burnout and attrition. Research also indicates that these professionals face notable environmental stressors and poor working conditions, even when compared to special educators in other settings. To address teacher burnout…

The purpose of this publication is to provide guidance to Minnesota CareerForce youth development professionals on how to intentionally integrate the Guideposts for Success framework into the Individualized Learning Plan (ILP) model. Developed by PACER Center for Minnesota's Partners for Youth Disability Employment Initiative (DEI), this guide…

The Ohio Department of Education's Office of Early Learning and School Readiness provides technical assistance and resources for their partners working with families, preschool staff, and communities to meet the individual needs of preschool children with disabilities. The goal of this manual is to offer information to preschool programs and…

There is a process within the special education program that directly links a child's educational program with their plans for the future. It is called a Transition Plan and is part of the Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Transition services are a coordinated set of activities for a child with a disability designed to be used within a…

Research has shown that there are consistently poor post-school outcomes for students with disabilities, especially for students from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds. Therefore, it is important for educators to develop culturally responsive transition plans for youth from CLD backgrounds that address their needs.…

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,…

Many students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have specialized interests and passions that are highly reinforcing. Such special interest areas (SIAs) are more than mere hobbies or simple curiosities. Rather, the SIAs of an individual with autism may be characterized by (a) significant depth and breadth of knowledge about the area, (b)…

The purposes of "Guidelines for Serving Students with Specific Learning Disabilities in Educational Settings" are to: (1) Update previous guidance on serving students with specific learning disabilities (SLD); (2) Provide guidance on the implementation with fidelity of the Response to Intervention (RTI) models as well as the discrepancy…

Individual Education Program (IEP) teams are composed of diverse individuals, each bringing a unique set of experiences, knowledge, and skills to the table. Given this, it is not uncommon for team members to have different views on the special education and related services needs of the student whose plan is being developed. When divergent views…

This toolkit was created to make transition planning easier and offers easy-to-understand information about the purpose of transition planning, the goal and importance of age-appropriate assessments, and the required rules that are used by schools. It also includes information on the community partners that can provide youth with supports as…

Student growth is one of two essential components of South Dakota's Teacher and Principal Effectiveness Systems. In the state systems, student growth is defined as a positive change in student achievement between two or more points in time. "The South Dakota SLO Handbook" provides support and guidance to public schools and school…

Learning strategy instruction is an evidence-based practice for teaching adolescents with mild disabilities. However, researchers have not developed strategies for every content area or skill. Therefore, teachers need to be able develop strategies based on the needs of their students. This article reviews the process for developing and teaching…

This document presents an instrument to help families of special needs children to identify their resources and their concerns, for use in development of the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). The first part of the instrument includes a series of open-ended questions that provide families an opportunity to identify their concerns, in…