This study investigated the effectiveness of a program designed to train paraeducators to use prompting strategies to teach students with moderate to severe intellectual and multiple disabilities. The paraeducator training program contained three components: a) an initial training on using task direction, time delay, most to least prompting, and…

For a student with a disability to receive special education services, an IEP team composed of education professionals and the student's parents must reach consensus on eligibility, programming, and placement. Conflict, mistrust, and dissatisfaction contributed to the breakdown in the IEP process. These three factors were examined through a…

Students with learning disabilities are a large part of the population of students with disabilities as well as the total student body. In fact, for many students the general education classroom is where most of these students acquire their content knowledge. This, however, is not the only school placement in which students can receive services.…

Twice-exceptional (2e) learners have often been misunderstood, disciplined, unchallenged, and left behind. Even as awareness of 2e students has grown, educators are still in need of practical tools to recognize and support their twice-exceptional students. This book answers that need, providing teachers with accessible information about…

The goal of the study was to better understand how instruction to students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) was delivered during remote learning this past spring and during the fall semester of the 2020-21 school year, and how these vulnerable students have been impacted. Research questions looked at special education teacher impressions…

The purpose of this brief is to help families and educators understand the right of students with disabilities who need accessible educational materials to receive these materials in a timely manner. This right is based on provisions in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as well as in the disability civil rights statutes…

The purpose of this study was to examine rulings of Pennsylvania hearing officers in cases that addressed procedural denials of a FAPE and provide recommendations to school districts. In order to develop recommendations, an examination of the 50 most recent due process cases occurred. The study examined the procedural regulation mentioned in the…

The purpose of this article is to present an updated comprehensive synthesis of the law, starting with the statutory provisions and culminating in the case law specific to the procedural and substantive requirements for manifestation determinations (MDs) under IDEA, as amended in 2004. Procedural requirements include issues such as who must make…

Given that parental participation is such a critical feature of IDEA (20 U.S.C. § 1400[c][5][B]), the question of who is a parent often presents a challenge. Specifically, with regard to educational decisions, states may include more options under the definition of a parent than those provided in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act…

This paper seeks to provide a cogent outline of the current policies that six separate countries have on Individual Education Plans (IEPs), identifying the key features in each system. The chosen countries are Australia (Queen Island), Canada (British Columbia), New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Saudi Arabia. The…

Rural school districts face different challenges than urban and suburban districts. In fact, several Rural Systemic Initiatives (RSIs) have been established around the country to isolate and address rural school district issues (Harmon & Smith, 2012). In order to improve the effectiveness of transition services in rural schools, feedback from…

School psychologists have a close, often uncomfortable relationship with the law, as much of what they do from day to day is defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA, 2004) and related state law. However, judges deciding cases often do not have a detailed understanding of how education and schools work, and…

School psychologists are faced with the task of conducting evaluations of students in order to determine special education eligibility. This often equates to administering a cognitive assessment measure to obtain information about skills or abilities. Although this may be a straightforward task when working with children of average or higher…

Consultation is essential to the daily practice of school psychologists (National Association of School Psychologist, 2010). Successful consultation requires fidelity at both the consultant (implementation) and consultee (intervention) levels. We applied a multidimensional, multilevel conception of fidelity (Dunst, Trivette, & Raab, 2013) to a…

In keeping with the international trend towards inclusive education and a context-sensitive approach to students' needs, Portugal enacted, in 2008, a law that stipulated the use of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health for Children and Youth (ICF-CY) to inform special needs assessment and eligibility procedures.…