This monograph reviews the research in linkages between schools and families of children with disabilities. An introductory section offers vignettes showing a typical school/home relationship of a family with a Down syndrome child in either 1958, 1978, or 1998. Part 1 considers what research has found about family functioning in terms of the adaptive family (models of stress and coping), the evolving family (models of family life course development), and the active family (the importance of routine activities for understanding family perspectives). Key research findings on family adaptation to raising a child with a developmental disability are summarized. Part 2 offers principles of collaboration between families and educators, including: (1) family-school collaboration is not consent, co-optation, or collusion; and (2) family-school collaboration should be characterized by access and affirmation. Part 3 offers two examples of activity-based linkages between schools and families: first, an assessment inventory to expand and adapt elementary and secondary curriculum; and, second, family-centered assessment in early childhood. Part 4 identifies some issues in family school linkages, such as the need for family narratives, cross cultural competence and family diversity, and inclusive education. (Contains 71 references.) (DB)