Current literature and recent legislation advocate parental involvement in education as "best subsequent reauthorizations practice." The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Amendment of 1997 and its promote parental participation in the special education process by requiring schools to consider parents as equal partners in…

As part of the validation process for alternate assessments, 39 classroom observations were conducted to gather data about current practices in providing academic instruction to students with significant intellectual disability. Using a standardized protocol, data were gathered using direct instructional observation, an Individualized Education…

Scholars know little about families' experiences when receiving related services and how these services affect the shift from a family-centered to an educational program. In this qualitative interview study, the authors explored the transition experiences of six families over a 3-month period, focusing on the role of related therapy services and…

In this article, a new definition of twice-exceptional children is proposed. In addition to introducing this new definition, the authors provide a research-based rationale for the definition, offer a clear profile of twice-exceptional youth, and summarize the development of new programs and practices to enable these students to develop their gifts…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of school counselor supervised peer tutoring intervention on meeting IEP outcomes of six inclusion students with developmental disabilities in a public elementary and secondary school. The effectiveness of this intervention was evaluated by using multiple probe design across students.…

Co-teaching involves a highly collaborative, mutually accountable relationship between a regular education and special education teacher in an inclusive environment. Effective co-teaching involves both teachers working together in the regular classroom setting in an effort to make learning accessible for all students regardless of ability or…

Family member-educator collaboration is envisioned as the "cornerstone" of the educational decision-making process for students with disabilities (e.g., Harry, 2008; Olivos, Friend & Cook, 2007, Gallagher & Aguilar, 2010). In the case of immigrant and refugee families, however, the ideal of coequal collaboration is often elusive…

This study describes a kindergarten curriculum for children with hearing impairments, from their teachers' perspectives. Qualitative research data from interviews with 20 teachers were analysed using content analysis methodology. The results pinpoint a collection of proposed curriculum components (i.e. a general framework and outcomes document;…

The number of students identified under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) with an emotional disturbance (ED) has remained remarkably stable over the last 30 years. During this time, approximately 1% of the school-aged population has been identified as disabled under the criteria set forth in IDEA (Kim, Forness, & Walker,…

Special education leaders need to be aware of long-standing general regulatory requirements under [image omitted]504 for which school districts are often vulnerable. Special education leaders also have to keep current on recent legal developments for "[image omitted]504-only" students, including the effects of the Americans with…

Including students in the general education classroom successfully requires multiprofessional coordination. However, given the well-documented barriers to successful collaboration, special educators in the inclusive model face a task that can be overwhelming. Research has shown that effective communication is one of the biggest hurdles in the…

Almost 50 years ago, while President of CEC, Frances Connor delivered a presidential address entitled "The Sword and the Spirit." She called for five revolutions. The first revolution called for increasing the quantity and quality of special education teachers. The second stated that "special education depends upon an intensive…

Despite the fact that China has a deep-rooted history of sympathetic attitudes toward individuals with disabilities, and has begun to serve individuals with disabilities in their public schools, Special Education in China today is much like it was in the United States prior to the implementation of the Education for all Handicapped Children Act of…

This article analyses the findings of a survey exploring Swedish leisure-time pedagogues' experiences of assessment in school and leisure-time centres. It aims to boost knowledge of how assessment, as a prominent example of changed education governance, is entering the work of leisure-time pedagogues and how it is perceived by them. It is…

In May 2006, Project Forum published a document entitled "Standards-Based IEPs: Implementation in Selected States" based on staff interviews in 18 states about their use of standards-based individualized education programs (IEPs). The definition of a standards-based IEP as presented in that document is: "a process and document that…