This book addresses crucial questions about how to create full access to the general education curriculum for children with disabilities. Based on years of research and innovation at CAST (The Center for Applied Special Technology), the book provides a helpful overview of the digital solutions that are at the forefront of efforts to create universal access. It also looks closely at the major policy and practice issues connected to this initiative. The book appears at a pivotal moment in special education policy and practice. The recent reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), together with the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and a general trend toward more inclusive education policies, has laid the groundwork for fully addressing the educational needs and abilities of children with disabilities of many kinds. Complementing these legal and social trends are remarkable new technologies designed to facilitate the education of those same children. Universal Design for Learning, or UDL--a network of methods, technologies, and materials developed at CAST--stands at the vanguard of this new era of initiatives and possibilities in special education. "The Universally Designed Classroom" offers a concise and useful introduction to this burgeoning field. A book for teachers, administrators, scholars, policymakers, parents, and citizens, it will be required reading for all who are committed to providing the finest education for all students. Contents include: (1) Introduction (David H. Rose, Anne Meyer, and Chuck Hitchcock); (2) The Future Is in the Margins: The Role of Technology and Disability in Educational Reform (Anne Meyer and David H. Rose); (3) Equal Access, Participation, and Progress in the General Education Curriculum (Chuck Hitchcock, Anne Meyer, David H. Rose, and Richard Jackson); (4) What IDEA and NCLB Suggest about Curriculum Access for Students with Disabilities (Joanne Karger); (5) Teacher Planning for Accessibility: The Universal Design of Learning Environments (Richard Jackson and Kelly Harper); (6) Teaching for Accessibility: Effective Practices, Classroom Barriers (Richard Jackson, Kelly Harper, and Janna Jackson); and (7) UDL Implementation: Examples Using Best Practices and Curriculum Enhancements (Tracey Hall, Anne Meyer, and Nicole Strangman). An index is also included.