The purpose of this document is to identify the essential components of appropriate programming that are mandated by Alberta Education for students with special education needs, to provide examples of effective practices, to establish a common understanding of the terminology associated with this specialized field, and to clarify the meaning of…

When Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1997, it authorized an evaluation to track progress at the state and local levels on the legislative goals of IDEA. The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) commissioned a national longitudinal study, the Study of State and Local…

Few educators today would argue with statements about the growing diversity of the children being educated in most schools. There is acceptance and often celebration of this diversity, including the growth and dispersal of the population of children and youth from diverse linguistic backgrounds, but there are also concerns about the ability to…

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) "Special Education at a Glance," which includes a copy of the "Guide to Planning and Assessing School-Based Special Education Programs," provides in a single document, information about the special education population at each MCPS school, including enrollment, staffing, special education…

This document is intended to help school districts in Oregon develop procedures for the operation of local special education programs. The guide is formatted to show legal requirements in the left column of each page with sample procedures in the right column. The sample procedures are not required and are intended to work in conjunction with the…

This practicum was designed to improve development of individualized education plans (IEPs) of mainstreamed students with disabilities in one junior high school, through applied strategies to increase the active involvement of regular classroom teachers, parents, and students in the decision-making process and IEP development. Interventions with…

This teaching module instructs preservice teachers about accelerating the progress of rural gifted students. Acceleration consists of various provisions that allow early completion of school, including grade-skipping, cross-grade placement, early entry, dual attendance, special class placement, and radical acceleration. In rural areas, the…

This second level of a portfolio for learners with special needs is intended for grades 9-10. A discussion of its conceptual design describes the four educational content areas from which it was developed (career development assessment, curriculum-based vocational assessment, community-referenced assessment, and work habits assessment) and four…

These guidelines are intended to provide a resource to use in assessing, planning, providing, evaluating, and improving the quality of programs for California pupils with severe orthopedic impairments. The first three chapters present characteristic elements of a well-designed program in the areas of: (1) identification and assessment, (2) the…

This collection of papers recognizes ways in which the context of educational policy and its implications for practice have, in combination with other influences, defined early childhood special education and influenced its development. An introduction by Philip L. Safford is presented. Subsequent papers have the following titles and authors:…

This document presents a "Quality Program Indicators Checklist" developed with the goal of program improvement in classrooms for students in Kentucky with moderate and severe handicaps. The checklist evaluates program effectiveness in six component areas: (1) integration (interaction opportunities and teacher behaviors supportive of…

This document is designed to assist physical education teachers to design curricula which can help students with learning disabilities, emotional impairments, and educable mental impairments achieve Michigan's essential goals and objectives for physical education. Chapter I discusses legal mandates, terminology, movement characteristics of the…

This manual on the transition of young people with disabilities to adult life has 11 chapters. Chapter 1 provides post-school information from a national and state perspective including a review of the North Carolina Transition Project for Youth with Disabilities. Chapter 2 offers a history of transition and a discussion of federal legislation…

This document is a brief analysis of survey information received from 33 states and non-state jurisdictions regarding implementation of the new provision in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that all students with disabilities have access to the general education curriculum by requiring linkage of the Individualized Education…

This manual is designed to be a practical guide for designing, implementing, and evaluating instruction and services for students with disabilities. The first section, "Leadership and Collaboration," offers a conceptual framework for program leadership, a program vision and descriptions, strategies for interagency collaboration, and…