This special issue of Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities (RPSD) is timely and resonates with the theme of the 2009 TASH Conference, "If not Us, Who? If not NOW, When?" The articles grapple with critical issues across a number of dimensions that reflect the complexity of inclusion and exclusion, the importance of…

The transition to adulthood can be difficult for anyone, but doubly or triply so for an individual with special needs. In addition to the emotional and developmental challenges it brings, it means huge transitions in terms of benefits programs, education, day-to-day structure, medical coverage and residential choices. In this article, the authors…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) mandates that schools facilitate parent participation in planning the Individual Education Program (IEP). However, culturally and linguistically diverse parents are less likely to feel fully included in the IEP process. In this article we examine three sources of cross-cultural…

The Individual with Disabilities Act has strengthened the role of parents in their children's special education. School social workers are one of the educational professionals in attendance at IEP staffings, yet their role definition continues to be poorly articulated. This qualitative study investigated school social work helpgiving practices…

The author expresses his fear that current practices designed to meet federal regulations regarding education of the handicapped may be merely surface compliance efforts. (CL)

This document provides an overview of the best practices and legal requirements regarding the reevaluation procedures under the IDEA to make the process more relevant for IEP teams as they approach this issue. Sections include: (1) Authority; (2) Questions/Answers; (3) Reevaluation Process; (4) Individualized Reevaluation Plan; (5) Summary…

Special and general educators rely on the school library for many reasons, such as the wealth of resources that are used to motivate students and individualize instruction and the fact that many students with disabilities enjoy spending time there (Smith-Canter, Voytecki, Zambone, and Jones 2009). In the June 2009 issue of "School Library…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act 2004 (IDEA) requires public schools to assure that parents of students with disabilities have the opportunity to participate in Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings. Strengths-based IEPs focus on student strengths and abilities, rather than weaknesses and disabilities, in…

English language learners (ELLs) with disabilities are a growing part of the K-12 school population nationwide. The available knowledge on how to effectively educate K-12 English language learners with disabilities, and measure their progress, is small but growing. However, many educators and families have pressing questions. How can educators…

The design of governmental regulations creates an assumption that policy implementation is linear in nature and is unproblematic (Dorey, 2005). As states, local education agencies (LEAs), and eventually school leaders and teachers engage in the policy implementation process, it becomes evident that this hierarchal dissemination of policy results…

A contextual analysis of the general education default and student benefit is presented from the perspective of school-based compliance with federal mandates from IDEIA [Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act] of 2004. A goal was to inform school administrators striving to develop and maintain effective, inclusive learning…

This article reviews "Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Third Edition" (WIAT-III), which is designed to assess students' skills in listening, speaking, reading, writing, and mathematics. The test can identify an individual's strengths and weaknesses, assist professionals who are determining whether a student is eligible for special…

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the numbers of children identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) continues to rise. In North Dakota, the percentage of students identified with an ASD has increased from 1.9% of the total population of students with disabilities in 2004 to 6.2% of that same group in 2013-14.…

Over the last 37 years, the Individualized Education Program (IEP) has been the guiding document that outlines the needs of a student who receives special education services. Washington State utilizes an IEP Review form as the means to determine if an IEP has been properly written and formulated. This information partially fulfills the Federal…

The demands for accountability in education have led to an increase in high-stakes testing practices in public schools. Accountability can be seen at the high school level in the use of exit examinations (hereafter "exit exams") that students must pass to receive a diploma and graduate from high school. One of the most challenging issues…