This article offers the viewpoint of a local educational authority officer concerning the British Code of Practice (1994), which provides standards for the legal statement, review, and reassessment processes for students with special educational needs. Positive and negative implications, as well as the historical and administrative context, are…

A study of 26 Asian-American students with learning disabilities in grades K-5 found that although the district policies reflected desired professional practices, there were no guidelines for documenting how variables such as second-language acquisition, culture, socioeconomic status, and other differences were accommodated. Policy recommendations…

This article describes the Comprehensive Test of Nonverbal Intelligence, an assessment designed to evaluate the intellectual ability of students ages 6 to 18.11 years for whom other mental ability tests are inappropriate or to enable comparisons between verbal and nonverbal intellectual ability. Its administration, standardization, reliability,…

Discusses the inappropriate referral of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students for speech-language therapy. Preassessment considerations that should be considered and the interrelatedness of culture, language, and communication as they impact on an individual learner's behavior are explained. Culturally appropriate assessment…

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 1997 amendments that are important to rural schools are funding compliance requirements, changes in identification and evaluation of students with disabilities, and qualitative standards for providing special education and related services. Guidelines resulting from court decisions are presented…

Twelve school-based speech-language practitioners enlisted the assistance of a university clinical phonologist to implement a research project investigating phonological acquisition. The speech samples of 520 children (ages 2-8) were transcribed. The 3-year-olds had acquired all major phoneme classes except liquids, /l/ was acquired between 4- 5,…

Discusses issues influencing the placement of young children with disabilities, including individual educational plans, labeling, philosophy-based decisions, the Regular Education Initiative, and full inclusion. Maintains that decisions regarding educational programs with disabilities must be based on individual educational needs, and notes that…

This article explores how to identify students with traumatic brain injury (TBI), difficulties students with TBI may face in the classroom, where the best placements might be, and what teaching strategies are effective. A classroom observation checklist for students with TBI is provided, along with advice on developing instructional plans.…

A study investigated the prevalence of different disabilities in 780 students found eligible for special education in Norway. Almost all had more than one disability, with the most common disabilities being psychosocial problems, intellectual disability, and communication disorders. One-third were reported to have attention deficit disorder or…

This article introduces diverse language and dialects of the Asian Pacific and describes their specific phonetic features. It also delineates the speech characteristics of the English spoken by those individuals whose English has been influenced by their local or native tongue. Clinical challenges in transcription and beyond are discussed.…

This introductory article discusses a study that investigated how at-risk students are defined in each of the Canadian provinces and Northern Territories and similarities in the definitions in the policy-making and policy implementation arenas. Different types of students that may be at-risk are described. (Contains references.) (CR)

Response to intervention (RTI) has emerged as a promising, but possibly vulnerable, alternative to the current model of identification and eligibility assessment in special education. Nested within a simple and compelling structure for RTI are many questions and challenges that make its future as "policy" at-risk unless these issues can…

This report describes activities and accomplishments of the 3-year project, "Expanding the Circle of Services for Children and Youth Who Are Deaf Blind," a South Dakota project to improve services to this population through improved interagency cooperation and technical assistance. A highlight of the third year was the formation of the…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of the Georgia Deaf-Blind Project, a 3-year federally supported project encompassing 159 counties and providing technical assistance to 237 infants, children, and youth with deaf-blindness along with their families and their service providers. Project accomplishments included: (1) more…

This paper reviews the literature on assessment bias issues in special education. While assessment instruments yielding a single IQ score are seen as useful components in a comprehensive multifactored assessment, and are the primary tool of diagnosis for mental retardation, they are found to be irrelevant when applied to students with learning…