Before adopting a scale for a new culture, researchers should conduct systematic translation procedures and evaluations to ensure its psychometric quality. The Pediatric Symptom Checklist-17 (PSC-17) is a brief and valid scale developed by U.S. researchers to evaluate children's emotional, attentional, and behavioral problems. This study aimed to…

The author of this commentary responds to an article titled "How We Might Make Special Education for Students with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders Less Stigmatizing," by J.M. Kaufmann and J. Bader, who maintain that identifying youth as having emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) and providing treatment for them is viewed to be…

This document provides policy recommendations of the Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders (CCBD) regarding disproportionality in special education and the need for federal policy driving state regulations to support efforts to eliminate this outcome in schools. CCBD is committed to advancing knowledge, effective instruction, and advocacy…

A comprehensive search identified 31 state statutes and regulations specific to functional behavioral assessments (FBA) and behavior intervention plans (BIP) in the special education context. A systematic tabulation of the state law provisions that exceed the rather narrow foundation requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act…

Instruction is the most important variable in special education, but it is often overlooked. Special instruction is what makes special education work, yet it is often neglected. We need to know more about how to teach both academic and behavioral skills more effectively, how behavioral and academic skills are interrelated, and how to choose those…

Students identified with or at risk for Emotional/Behavioral Disabilities (EBD) are being included in the general education classroom with teachers who have little training or exposure to characteristics of and interventions for students with EBD. In this study, we used a simple professional development intervention to train teachers to better use…

Investigations of why students with emotional disturbance (ED) are underidentified in special education have often focused on economic factors and problems with the definition of ED. The present study focuses on variation in underidentification across states and its relationship to political ideology. State-level political, economic, and…

The main tenant of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) reauthorization was improving student outcomes through the use of evidence-based interventions. A particularly interesting aspect that found its way into the legislation was the eligibility process. Current methods of eligibility identification for students with learning…

Data suggest that students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) are underidentified and underserved for a variety of reasons. In response to this problem, the authors identify misinformation and provide evidence-based information regarding prevalence; discuss the role of stigma and exclusion from the EBD category and appropriate responses…

A review of files of 45 elementary students revealed that the majority of the identified data used to make eligibility decisions were related to the behavioral and social aspects of the child, suggesting that appropriate and comprehensive assessment practices for identifying students with behavioral disorders are lacking within some public…

The purpose of this study is to describe academic and behavioral outcomes for adolescents who were identified when they were in kindergarten and first grade as being at risk for developing emotional and behavioral disorders. Results indicated that primary school academic achievement and teacher ratings of academic competence were highly…

Depression is one of the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorders among school-age youths. As such, school personnel should play an important role in the identification, assessment, and treatment of depression and related problems in school. School-based treatment of depression is especially relevant for students with emotional and behavioral…

Educators have frequently expressed concern about young children who are exposed to known environmental risk factors associated with the development of chronic behavior problems (e.g., poverty, domestic violence, child maltreatment). Nevertheless, a societal commitment to address these environmental risk factors by identifying young children who…

Although there has been long concern about underidentification or misidentification of children with emotional or behavioral disorders in special education, recent attention has also been focused on disproportionate racial and ethnic representation of children in the school category of emotional disturbance (ED). There is evidence that African…