This study investigated the determination eligibility practices for Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) within Mississippi school districts, framed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004 (IDEA) and Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) guidelines. A survey of 139 educational professionals in Mississippi offered insights into…

State legislation serves as a guide and critical influence on the evaluation and identification of students with dyslexia across the United States. The state of Texas has numerous laws and regulations concerning dyslexia, guided by the Texas Administrative Code, Texas Education Code, Texas Occupations Code, and the Texas Education Agency's…

Students with learning difficulties form the largest group of students with additional needs in Australian mainstream classrooms. However the terminology surrounding these students differs broadly across the country. A consistent and shared understanding of the term learning difficulties is vital, as this impacts the identification and equitable…

Previous studies of K-12 dyslexia legislation have described broad trends in legislative content, such as the presence or absence of screening and intervention requirements. This study uses document analysis to provide a finer-grained description of the laws to highlight critical variation in policy that will directly affect (a) the number and…

Although South Korea has a relatively short history of special education, the country has made remarkable improvements following the Special Education Act (1974) and Act on Special Education for Persons with Disabilities (2008) mandates. The meaningful social inclusion of individuals with disabilities is a fundamental goal documented through the…

Over the past 20 years, the education system in Guyana has significantly improved. Despite this improvement, students with disabilities in Guyana still face higher rates of poverty, lack of access to schools, and a lack of teachers who are trained in how to best meet their needs. Guyana has tried to address these problems with the drafting of…

The following brief provides an overview of the separate but intersecting federal policies that govern the identification of and services provided to English learners and students with disabilities. This overview will frame key opportunities to serve ELs with disabilities more equitably with the aim of helping policymakers, advocates, and…

Students who are Black or Hispanic are now reported to be less likely to be identified as having disabilities than similarly situated students who are White. Although repeatedly replicated, this finding is often characterized as in error. I use a new statistical technique, the E-value, to quantify the likelihood that unmeasured confounding…

Recently, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reported that although countries around the world must ensure that students with disabilities receive free, inclusive, and appropriate education, students with disabilities are less likely to complete primary or secondary school in many countries. Though this…

This article synthesizes policy and intervention options for youth with disabilities based on recent reports from the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy. To frame findings from both reports, we utilize a life course approach. This approach is important as…

The purpose of Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) is to protect the rights of students with disabilities and to assure that all students receive equitable access to a free and appropriate public education; yet there are explicit exclusions written in the law for students who may have experienced environmental,…

State accountability systems have been a primary school reform initiative in the US for the past 20 years, but often produce unintended negative consequences. In 2004, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) implemented the Performance Based Monitoring and Analysis System (PBMAS), which included an accountability indicator focused on the percentage of…

The definitions and educational policies related to learning disabilities have been updated throughout the last two decades since the passing of the Special Education Promotion Act (1994) in the Republic of Korea (South Korea). In particular, the definition of learning disabilities was entirely revised in the Special Education Act for Individuals…

Although researchers have studied dyslexia for over a century, there is still much debate about how dyslexia differs from other reading difficulties and how to support students labeled dyslexic. Nevertheless, dyslexia policy and practice are steeped in authoritative discourse that speaks of a definitive definition, unique characteristics, and…

An often-used idiom states: "you can't lose what you never had." Yet contrary to this expression, it "is" possible to lose what you never had--at least when special education support is concerned. In Ontario, as in other jurisdictions, special education exists as a codified system. An ever-changing nexus of discourses and…