Depending on their experience, local special education directors may be familiar with the complaint procedures (CP) avenue that the IDEA requires each state education agency (SEA) to provide. Yet most special education professors and many parents of students with disabilities have negligible knowledge about this avenue of decisional dispute…

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…

Family involvement is a central component of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Family members are to be integrated in all aspects of the special education process. At the onset, of family involvement, it is imperative for educators to be aware of possible reactions family members may experience in this initial stage. This…

The federal McKinney-Vento Act defines homelessness broadly in an effort to provide protections and supports for students living in a variety of unstable housing situations. This ensures school stability and continued enrollment at a time when a student's nighttime residence may be constantly changing. In Washington, the number of children and…

The authors illustrate models and procedures that can be applied to calculate overall composite scores in order to identify an indicator of English language proficiency, based on composite scores for English learners with 504 or individualized education plans who are missing one or more domain scores on the Assessing Comprehension and…

For Wisconsin schools and districts, implementing an equitable multi-level system of supports means providing equitable services, practices, and resources to every learner based upon responsiveness to effective instruction and intervention. In this system, high quality instruction, strategic use of data, and collaboration interact within a…

This report describes the results of a survey conducted with State IDEA Part B Section 619 Coordinators in 2018. Questions were designed in partnership across Section 619 Coordinators, OSEP and ECTA center staff to gather information about state systems and services provided under the Preschool Grants Program (Section 619 of Part B) of IDEA. The…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires professionals on Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams to provide family members of children with disabilities every opportunity to participate in IEP meetings. Despite this requirement, findings from qualitative and survey research suggest that many parents have reported they…

Nonpublic schools (NPSs) are used by local education agencies (LEAs) across the country to serve students with exceptional needs. These students are often reported to suffer from mental health challenges and engage in severe problem behaviors. The social and financial costs associated with NPS placements are significant, and it is imperative that…

In this study, students with and without disabilities (n = 816) in general and special education settings in Grades 9 through 12 were participants in a quasi-experimental design to examine the main effects of an online curriculum intervention with transition-related content on career readiness. Setting and teacher characteristics were examined for…

This article begins by describing a scenario in which a fourth-grade learning disabled student's individualized education program (IEP) team came together to develop his IEP and in so doing made a number of procedural and substantive errors. The purpose of this article is to examine the procedural and substantive requirements of the Individuals…

Teachers and parents often find special education law complex and confusing. As one step for a basic foundation in special education law, a previous "TEACHING Exceptional Children" article (Zirkel, 2005) provided a snapshot of the "top five case concepts" based on 10 decisions from the Supreme Court. Each of these decisions…

As transition services foster better post-school outcomes, all students with disabilities should be receiving these services as they traverse their final high school years. Using a national, web-based parent survey, we examined the frequency and correlates of the receipt of transition services for 189 students with disabilities. Parents reported…

The COVID-19 outbreak caused abrupt disruptions to many domains of everyday life, including education. Educational disruptions may be compounded for students who require supports and services to participate. We surveyed parents of students with disabilities and chronic health conditions to understand the extent of service delivery disruption,…

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…