Principals in the United States are responsible for creating educational environments that enable students, including those with disabilities, to achieve both academic and postschool goals. Unfortunately, many principals lack the preparation necessary to effectively lead special education programs. To support principals and ensure that students…

In France, the 1882 Compulsory Education Act includes both French and foreign children. Since then, the need to go further than this general principle of non-discrimination and to undertake specific action for immigrants, both adults and children, has been recognized. Since 1970, the Ministry of Education has been directly responsible for this…

For many ethnically diverse students with learning disabilities, participation in postsecondary education is necessary. However, to achieve this goal, a comprehensive transition planning is essential. As a consequence, postsecondary personnel must collaborate with others to ensure nondiscriminatory but sensible treatment of ethnically diverse…

Successful transition planning is a lifelong process in which the student, family members, friends, and professionals come together to develop and act upon a plan that will lead to a successful adult life. For this reason, transition planning has become a part of several federal laws. The most encompassing of these laws, the Individuals with…

Young children with special needs and their families often experience transitions across multiple environments in the early childhood years. Many transitions are identified as stressful for children and families. In the present study, a series of focus groups involving administrators, practitioners, and family members were held around the United…

As the focus on school improvement at a state education agency moves from mostly a compliance approach to playing a greater role in capacity building, the agency's leadership needs to rethink student and learning supports. That is the focus of this report. Given that almost half of the chief state school officers have assumed their position in the…