This study aims to identify the relationships between Individualized Education Program (IEP) status and substance use. More than 122,000 eighth-, ninth-, and eleventh-grade students provided survey data in 2013. Analyses tested associations between IEP status and tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use, accounting for emotional distress and…

Assistive technology (AT), as defined in Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004 (34 CFR sections 300.5 and 300.6), consists of devices and accompanying services that support a student with an IEP or IFSP. AT includes devices ranging from a low-tech pencil with a grip to a high-tech voice-activated computer. AT services assess…

Career and technical education (CTE) provides students of all ability levels the opportunity to develop skills for a post-secondary career. When students with disabilities are included in CTE, educators are legally required to provide an appropriate program that meets each student's unique needs. There are, however, few discussions in the…

All school districts have children attending who have special dietary needs due to a disability or a food allergy or intolerance. In order for these children to attend school, their dietary needs must be addressed since they are unable to eat meals prepared for the general student population. There is federal legislation which provides guidance…

Individuals who serve as surrogate parents fulfill an important role in the life of a child with a disability. Surrogates have become increasingly important in special education because a growing number of children are living outside their family for some period of their lives. Like parents, surrogates of children with disabilities are granted a…

Educating students with disabilities has been an evolving process. This evolution has come from students with disabilities not being educated within the public school system to students with disabilities being mainstreamed within general education to the maximum extent possible. Even though special education has come a long way, there is a lot of…

The purpose of this article is to discuss major substantive errors that school personnel may make when developing students' Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). School IEP team members need to understand the importance of the procedural and substantive requirements of the IEP, have an awareness of the five serious substantive errors that IEP…

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…

This article describes a study of online educators' use of technology as part of the accommodations they provided to students with disabilities at their school. Specifically, research focused on four teachers who were members of an interdisciplinary team in a large virtual school program, in a state with established policies regarding online…

The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) recognizes the importance of special education teachers in the education of all children and youth. Special educators have always believed that children's individual learning needs should drive instruction; indeed, pedagogy is the heart of special education practice. One way to judge a special education…

Dyslexia is a neurologically-based, lifelong condition that affects a person's ability to process language, which in turn can make reading and writing more difficult. Between 10 and 20 percent of all people are dyslexic. Providing appropriate reading instruction and intervention for young children by second grade could reduce the percentage of…

Student graduation from high school with a regular high school diploma is an important indicator of school success and one of the most significant indicators of student college and career readiness. In addition, there are substantial economic benefits to high school completion. For example, according to the U.S. Department of Education's National…

Best practices in adult transition special education for moderate to severe students suggest student-centered planning that maximizes independence in adult life. Based on the above sources, school districts and governing boards would best serve moderate to severe transition special education students with increasing integration into the community…

This study was conducted to examine the relationship between 32 typically developing preschoolers' attitudes and play behaviors toward their classmates with disabilities or developmental delays. Children's attitudes toward peers with disabilities were assessed using three methods: child interviews, sociometric peer ratings, and a social acceptance…

Once their child has been diagnosed as deaf or hearing impaired, parents may not know what to do. This booklet will help answer some of the questions these parents might have. A resource section has been included for parents and professionals on pages 43-44, for future reference. One of the most important things to remember is that, once a child…