Discusses strategies that support student self-determination in transition planning, including: holding high expectations for students, preparing students for transition meetings, allowing students to make important decisions, encouraging students to attend transition fairs, and providing opportunities for students to explore their communities and…

Highlights specific questions, concerns, and challenges faced by educators, parents, and students concerning assessment, accountability, accommodations, and alternate assessment. Examples of state assessment-accommodation policies are provided and reasons for providing test accommodations, requirements of Individualized Education Programs,…

The collaborative campus-school district special education teacher preparation model at Arizona State University-West integrated the self-determination literature with the student-led Individualized Education Program (IEP) process and competency-based teacher education. Preservice teachers (n=29) increased their competence and confidence in…

This questionnaire study examined the coordination of speech/language therapists (N=47) with teachers (N=62) in 54 special schools for children with physical disabilities in England. Respondents were positive about the value of collaboration, although many reported problems of limited time available for joint planning and development of…

This article identifies problems associated with excluding the scores of students with disabilities who need nonapproved accommodations and explores ways in which these scores can be included in system and student accountability systems. The need for Individualized Education Program teams to establish guidelines and establish a documentation…

This article discusses provisions under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that require all students with disabilities to have access to the general education curriculum and be assessed. The role of the Individualized Education Program in documenting student participation in state and district-wide educational assessments is explored.…

A study that examined state Individualized Education Program (IEP) forms found that out of the 41 with IEP forms, only 5 specifically addressed educational standards on their forms. Thirty-one states addressed the general curriculum on their IEP forms and 30 states listed three or more options for assessment participation. (Contains nine…

Twenty Korean-American mothers of children with disabilities participated in interviews concerning perceptions of the expertise, attitudes, and behavior of social and educational service providers, differences in cultural values and communication styles, and the need and use of translation services. Mothers reported satisfaction with the…

Concomitant with the increase in the number of paraprofessionals assisting students with disabilities is the emergence of legal issues pertaining to the need, selection, responsibilities, preparation, and supervision of those paraprofessionals. The purpose of this article is to provide a legal analysis of administrative and judicial decisions…

This project investigated the effects of technology task autonomy, teacher gender, and student gender on student achievement scores for students disaggregated by IEP and SES in middle school science classrooms. Participants were from the treatment group in a larger quasi-experimental design project that investigated the effects of integrated…

The 2007/2008 Parents of Children with Severe Special Needs Survey is conducted to obtain opinions from parents of children with severe special needs to assess their satisfaction with key areas of the education system. A random sample of 816 parents of children with severe special needs completed the survey. Severe special needs descriptions…

This "Packet of Information for Families" (PIF) was developed for parents whose children are identified as both gifted/ talented and on the autism spectrum, or twice-exceptional. Parents of twice-exceptional children often search for appropriate and challenging enrichment programs for their child, but the dearth of information available…

Involving state content standards in the development of individualized education programs (IEPs) for students with disabilities--a practice most often referred to as "standards-based IEPs"--is a growing area of interest in special education. The Access Center, a federally funded technical assistance resource, is dedicated to helping…

This article presents questions related to legal issues of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004 and the changes it has made with regard to local education agency (LEA) and the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process. The author's answers to these questions are presented. In answering the general question--to what…

This report discusses disciplining children with disabilities in schools, in the context of the legal requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Practical concepts are explained in terms of the school's responsibility to: (1) maintain a safe environment; (2) teach a code of discipline to all students; (3) use the…