Despite the long-term negative outcomes associated with restraining and secluding students, these practices are frequently used in schools, with disproportionate use on students with disabilities. Based on recent guidance from the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, misusing these practices violates student rights under the Americans…

The number of students identified as having a disability and requiring special education services in the United States has more than doubled since the authorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1975. Simultaneously, public schools are experiencing a significant shortage in qualified special education teachers.…

Co-teaching was originally conceived as a way to push student with special needs into general education so that they could access the general curriculum alongside their peers. What was often lost, however, was the meticulous attention to these students' special needs, as identified in their individualized education programs (IEPs). In this…

In this article, the author proposes that students who led their Individual Education Program (IEP) meetings were better informed about their own disabilities, rights, and accommodations, and that the act of leading the meeting resulted in improved self-advocacy and self-confidence. Also, in understanding their list of accommodations and…

The originators of special education law anticipated disputes and provided due process hearings as a means to settle the disputes. However, due process proved to be unfair, costly (financially and emotionally), and destructive to school-family relationships. Years later, lawmakers offered mandated mediation along with resolution meetings in…

In this article, we analyze the Supreme Court's decision in "Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE-1" (2017), interpreting the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and its provisions creating a right of every student with a disability to have an appropriate education. We compare the "Endrew" decision with…

In total, 139 Texas special education due process hearings that occurred between 2011 and 2015 were examined. Cases were coded with regard to the student's special education disability category; the number of hearings in which a specific party prevailed; the primary, secondary, and/or tertiary issues of the case; the number of issues in these…

Two Supreme Court cases have served to frame our legal rights and responsibilities regarding a Free Appropriate Public Education for students in our music classrooms and ensembles. This article serves as record of the two cases and their merits, according to the Supreme Court, as well as the actions recommended based on the court decisions.

A persistent problem in the professional literature in school psychology and related fields, such as special education, is the insufficient treatment of legal issues in terms of not only quantity (e.g., Zaheer & Zirkel, 2014) but also quality (e.g., Zirkel, 2014). The quality dimension is illustrated in the coverage of the Supreme Court's…

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…

The primary mechanism for ensuring students with disabilities receive the right educational content and rigor at the right moment in their education is the individualized education program (IEP). This document, "Ensuring an Equitable Opportunity: Providing a High-Quality Education for Students with Disabilities," details policy and…

Questions often arise about how accessible educational materials (AEM) might be included in Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). The two purposes of this article are to (1) help families and educators understand the importance of including AEM in the IEPs of students who require them, and (2) to discuss locations in the IEP where it may be…

Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams are required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to consider a student's need for assistive technology (AT). Despite this legal requirement, AT supports are often not available to students with disabilities. Many students with disabilities and their families have addressed the…

For young people with disabilities, crossing the bridge to adulthood will be empowering instead of intimidating--when their support teams know the essentials of effective transition planning. Now all the fundamentals of well-crafted transition plans are collected in one concise quick-guide, straight from one of the top authorities on helping young…

Each year, over 1.2 million children and youth identified as homeless in the nation's schools experience educational disruption that is caused by not having a safe and stable place to live (NCHE, 2014). Homeless children and youth face educational challenges that include a lack of basic necessities, such as food, clothing, and medical services;…