The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act allows states some autonomy in altering the disability category terminology and definitions, given that the changes do not exclude students eligible under the federal language. Several states have used this flexibility for the emotional disturbance category historically. This study provides a…

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) consistently lag behind their peers academically and behaviorally, are likely to be excluded from school, drop out more frequently, and face higher incarceration rates and a host of other negative outcomes as adults. Federal policy has played a key role in (a) ensuring that students with…

This article reviews the development and current status of alternatives to the federal definition of emotional disturbance or behavior disorders. It notes that several states are now revising their own terminologies or definitions in response to the 1997 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that dropped the term…

This paper argues that the new federal definition for emotional or behavioral disorders may deny services to many deserving pupils, such as urban socially maladjusted youth, homosexuals, historically oppressed minorities, and students from low-income households. The role of teachers, teacher education programs, and professional groups in this…

This booklet reviews the literature and examines issues associated with providing services to students who exhibit externalizing or acting-out behaviors in the schools. Considered are the following issues: eligibility (whether socially maladjusted or conduct-disordered students are eligible for special education); legal intent (intent of the…

This study investigated the possible relationship between level of service to students with behavioral disorders and: restrictiveness of State Department of Education positions on interpretation of the definition of serious emotional disturbance, of the social maladjustment exclusion in that definition, and a state's degree of republicanism. The…

Canada is a country composed of 10 provinces and three territories with very limited federal control over the public K-12 education system. This lack of consistent direction has led to a range of diverse educational policies for educating students with emotional/behavioral disorders (E/BD). This article investigates the current state of policies…

This report documents the failure of the educational and mental health systems to meet the needs of children with severe emotional disturbances and provides a guide for advocates at both the state and local levels. Part 1 identifies priorities obtained through a national survey and reports major thrusts, including a wider array of services,…

This response to Maag and Howell (EC 602 677) stresses that the prevention and treatment of students' emotional and behavioral problems requires system restructuring, a change of values, and such coercive change techniques as a revised, more inclusive, federal definition of emotional and behavioral disorders. (DB)

This study assessed the state of educational law, standards, resources, and interventions for students with behavior disorders in Canada. Data were primarily gathered through a mail survey of 12 provincial and territorial departments of education. Definitions for behavior disorder are presented, as used by each province. Prevalence figures, labels…