"Moving Your Numbers", a technical assistance and dissemination initiative begun in 2010 by the National Center on Educational Outcomes, described the work of 10 school districts that were using assessment and accountability to increase performance for students with disabilities as part of their overall district reform and improvement…

Special education leaders need to be aware of long-standing general regulatory requirements under [image omitted]504 for which school districts are often vulnerable. Special education leaders also have to keep current on recent legal developments for "[image omitted]504-only" students, including the effects of the Americans with Disabilities Act…

Partnerships between local education agencies (LEAs) and institutions of higher education (IHEs) allow individual organizations to leverage their assets as well as expand and enhance their own knowledge bases. Two of the more prominent types of LEA-IHE partnerships in special education are Alternative Route to Certification programs and…

The role of the school administrator as an instructional leader has had a long history. However, today this role is more important than ever as high stakes testing has increased the level of accountability for all educators. Districts across the country be they urban, suburban, or rural are scraping for every dollar and at the same time many…

The need for high-quality teachers in special education and the persistent shortage of teachers beckon school leaders to find ways to support beginning teachers. Induction is one mechanism that has gained widespread attention for its potential in addressing beginning teacher quality and retention. In this article, the authors describe one…

A systematic analysis of the references to "scientifically based research" (SBR) and closely related terms, such as "peer-reviewed research" (PRR), in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) legislation, regulations, commentary, and case law reveal that SBR and its primary variants apply largely to state support obligations, such as…

When the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (now known as the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act [IDEA]) was initially passed in 1975, it indicated that districts were required to provide children in private schools with access to special education and related services, but it was unclear whether they were entitled to…

A national survey was conducted to provide information on the preparedness and conditions necessary for schools to implement the response to intervention model (RtI). Because of the key role of administrators in determining the success of policy implementation, the present study was designed to assess special education administrators'…

Since 1996, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), located in Southern California, has been under a federal court consent decree requiring compliance with laws pertaining to the delivery of special education services and the elimination of architectural barriers in schools. In 2003, the consent decree was modified, creating…

Special education service delivery is often the source of disputes between parents and districts and an issue in special education class-action lawsuits. Despite these controversies, there has been little large-scale research on the delivery of services. This study represents a large-scale assessment of the delivery of special education services…

The phenomenon of persistent disproportionate representation of minority students in special education is now entering its fourth decade. Disproportionality is well documented in the literature and has been the focus of attention from federal agencies, including the Office of Civil Rights and the Office of Special Education Programs. In an effort…

For nearly 5 years, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has been engaged in efforts to reduce the number of out-of-school suspensions for students with disabilities and their typical peers by applying the principles of positive behavioral support throughout its more than 700 K-12 schools. Initially, LAUSD focused solely on reducing the…

Five years ago, the "Journal of Special Education Leadership" (JSEL) dedicated a special issue to "Critical Issues in Urban Special Education" and offered insights into the challenges of special education leadership in urban school districts. These perspectives focused on access to the curriculum, school-wide behavior supports, disproportionality,…

Section 504 is a civil rights statute mandating that persons with disabilities have equal access to all programs receiving federal financial assistance. Many initially interpreted Section 504 as a prohibition against employment discrimination in the schools because the overall act was concerned primarily with discrimination in employment settings.…

In this case study, special educators left an urban district primarily because of personal reasons, dissatisfaction, and more attractive opportunities elsewhere. Findings suggest that the district might retain more teachers by designing responsive induction programs, improving work conditions, and providing teachers with opportunities to transfer…