Students present with mental health needs and posttraumatic stress symptoms, yet they largely do not receive necessary services. Since schools are an ideal setting for students to receive mental health services, Mental Health Action Plans (MHAPs) were developed to define and detail the ways in which student mental health needs can be addressed at…

Disproportionality and inequity exist in the special education services that U.S. children receive based on factors such as race, geographic location, and resources of the school system. Overrepresentation and underrepresentation are both prevalent issues and can vary by region or school district and are likely due to multiple factors. Although…

Students in the United States who receive special education services are entitled to receive an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that provides an appropriate level of benefit. Although IEP content is informed by policy mandates and practice recommendations, research has yet to investigate the degree to which school practice is in alignment.…

This study documents teachers' perceived impact of a massive open online course (MOOC) entitled The Self-Determined IEP: Supporting "Success for Students with Behavioural and Adjustment Difficulties" using Coldwell & Simkins' (2011) model for evaluating continuing professional development in education. Employing pre-experimental…

Parents play a vital role in supporting children with learning disabilities, but little is known about their understanding of this diagnosis. The experiences of parents with the diagnostic process and the services their children receive post-diagnosis vary widely. Parents who participated in this study reported that they understand learning…

Discipline disproportionality among African American students with disabilities is well documented in empirical research; however, there are limited studies about school administrators' perspectives on practices leading to disproportionality for this population. The purpose of this study was to examine school administrators' perspectives on…

Despite the long-term negative outcomes associated with restraining and secluding students, these practices are frequently used in schools, with disproportionate use on students with disabilities. Based on recent guidance from the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, misusing these practices violates student rights under the Americans…

In this interview study, we utilize a theoretical framework that combines Bell's theory of choice sets with DisCrit to explore how parents of students with IEPs (SIEPs) experienced a forced school choice embedded with the 2013 mass school closures in Chicago. We find that a child's disability was a primary factor in parent's choices. Further, all…

Early intervention (EI) plays a crucial role in supporting infants and toddlers with developmental needs and helping families understand how to meet their child's needs. However, once a child reaches the age of three, these services come to an end and families must transition to school services. Surprisingly, there is a lack of research focusing…

Family-educator collaboration results in enhanced outcomes among educators, families, and, most importantly, students with disabilities. Collaboration of this nature, however, does not always occur for many reasons, including tension that arises when family and educator microcultures differ and result in communication breakdowns. Reflexivity is…

The Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) section in Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) is critical for aligning educational goals with students' current capabilities and needs. However, inconsistencies and legal deficiencies in PLAAFP statements persist due to inadequate data collection and fragmented…

The purpose of this study was to examine responses from U.S. high school students with (n = 356) and without (n = 1,599) an Individualized Education Program (IEP) on 11 independent living skills (ILS) items taken from a broader college and career readiness assessment. Results indicated significant differences in ILS proficiency based on IEP…

The aims of this study were to (a) characterize the prevalence and interrelationship of Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals in academic (reading, writing, math) and developmental (language, social skills, behavioral) domains in a large U.S. national sample of autistic children across the elementary and secondary grade levels and (b)…

A significant body of research clearly indicates that when students with disabilities are meaningfully included in general education classrooms and schools, academic and social outcomes improve for students with and without disabilities. However, bringing this research to practice poses practical considerations for school leaders, including which…

This brief summarizes empirical research on the effects of Tier 1 PBIS for students with disabilities. In general, when schools implement PBIS with fidelity, students with disabilities experience: (a) improved SEB outcomes and (b) reduced exclusionary discipline (i.e., office discipline referrals, suspensions, restraint, seclusion). Given the…