We acknowledge that some students with severe disabilities are not being taught in general education. We do not agree that inclusion in general education is inherently better, nor do we think it is always appropriate, and we provide some reasons that a full continuum of alternative placements is not only legally mandated but appropriate. We are…

Since the original passing of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1975, students with disabilities are required to have services that are individualized to meet their needs as documented in their Individual Education Program, or IEP. These documents can often be long and determining the implications for students in music classrooms…

The purpose of this guidance is to provide clarity to schools and districts regarding expectations and considerations for equitable learning opportunities for all students during this time of Continuous Learning. Equity starts with educators checking their assumptions and biases. Educators can review outgoing language, materials, images and…

Following a high-quality early care and pre-K experience, the kindergarten-through-third-grade years set the foundation upon which future learning builds; and strengthening this continuum creates opportunities for later success. Key components of a quality experience in K-3 include school readiness and transitions, kindergarten requirements,…

Legally coordinated transition plans have been the expectation since the Individual with Disabilities Education Act of 1990 (IDEA, 1990). Research is firm that parent participation and high expectations are evidence-based practices supporting improved outcomes in post-secondary environments (Mazzotti et al., 2016; Test, Mazzotti et al., 2009).…

This article is an examination of intersecting outcomes of deteriorating student mental health, disrupted socialization skills, declining preparatory academic performance, and the impact of traumatic domestic and global events on a diverse and digitally immersed Generation Z. The underlying and enduring organizational structure common to almost…

School instruction and service delivery changed dramatically amid disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Children receiving special education services were especially vulnerable to the impact of reduced or eliminated school services as part of their Individualized Education Programs. Caregiver perspectives regarding the changes in school…

This observation study documents the amount and quality of mathematics instruction provided to students with intellectual and developmental disabilities in kindergarten through second grade in self-contained special education settings. We observed six special education teachers and their students (N = 12) during a total of 967 min allotted to…

A strengths-based approach to transition assessment and planning can ensure that special education services are person-centered. To better understand the strengths and needs of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD), we compared the perceptions of students and their teachers from three public high schools. A convergent…

Existing approaches for training paraeducators rely heavily on intensive one-to-one coaching and may not be feasible in practice. In this study, we test a tiered training model in which all paraeducators first received group training, and then coaching was provided only for the subset who did not meet performance criteria after group training.…

Transition beyond high school for students with disabilities was introduced in education over 50 years ago. Today, it has evolved to include data collection of ongoing mandated activities and post-school outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine student transition planning components and how these related to the post-school outcome data…

Some students with emotional and behavioral disabilities (EBD), specifically conduct disorder (CD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), characteristically display oppositional behaviors that adversely affect their academic performance and cause gaps in their learning. The problem studied was negative behaviors exhibited by students with EBD,…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how middle school general and special education teachers in the Northeastern region of the U.S. describe their collaboration in the designing and evaluating of IEP services for students with disabilities. It was not known how middle school general and special education teachers…

IDEA students graduating at a rate far lower than their peers in the United States (Digest of Education Statistics, 2019). Students with disabilities are currently facing are entering post-secondary life with little or no understanding of their disability or how that disability may impact them in the future. The purpose of this study was to…

Students with disabilities often have difficultly applying information learned in one context to another, also called transfer. Music teachers can provide opportunities for students to transfer and make connections between classes to enhance their learning and encourage students to think differently about the content. By including nonmusic ideas,…