The purpose of this case study was to expand the literature base regarding the application of high school schoolwide positive behavior support in an urban setting for practitioners and policymakers to address behavior issues. In addition, the study describes the use of the Change Point Test as a method for analyzing time series data that are…

Time is limited. Teachers often struggle to address the diverse needs of learners in their classrooms, especially when faced with academic and social skills concerns. Finding effective ways to teach social skills in the context of academic instruction makes sense. Books by Dr. Seuss provide a variety of high-interest stories that can be used to…

School bullying is a serious problem. It is associated with negative effects for bullies, targets, and bystanders. Bullying is related to school shootings, student suicides, and poor academic outcomes. Yet, this issue cannot be solved by way of simple, one-size-fits-all solutions. Instead, school bullying is a complex, systemic issue that requires…

The authors examined 62 court cases occurring in 2009 from the LexisNexis database regarding students, ages 3-21 years, with various forms of autism spectrum disorder and violations to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. They analyzed procedural and substantive violations to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the…

Children and their teachers are more likely to achieve success when genuine caring is connected to literacy learning. This connection is important because it increases the chances of success across the curriculum and through the grades. Among the ways of demonstrating a caring attitude is to provide children with opportunities to make choices, to…

With the enactment of standards-based accountability in education, high-stakes tests have become the dominant method for measuring school effectiveness and student achievement. Schools and educators are under increasing pressure to meet achievement standards. However, there are variables which may interfere with the authentic measurement of…

Teaching self-determination skills is an effective way to improve the quality of life of individuals with disabilities. Embedding self-determination strategies in early childhood curriculum helps students with disabilities gain access to the general education. Considering families' cultural values can improve relationships between professionals…

With the passing of the Gun Free School Act of 1994, the 1990s bore witness to the birth of zero-tolerance policies. During the remainder of that decade, several school shootings occurred that solidified zero-tolerance in schools across the United States. With the possibility of threats constantly increasing, school personnel having a thorough…

This article describes the procedures and utility of the Benchmarks of Quality as part of a comprehensive evaluation plan to assess the universal level of implementation fidelity of behavior support for a school. However, results can also be examined to determine the level of implementation fidelity across a district or state for ongoing…

As the nation as a whole becomes progressively more diverse, increasing numbers of children from linguistically diverse backgrounds are served in special education programs. Ensuring that appropriate educational services are developed for these students in collaboration with their family members as equal participants on school-based teams…

This study was designed to obtain (a) a national picture of the characteristics of special educators who provide reading or English instruction in juvenile corrections facilities and (b) characteristics of the schools in which they work and the students who they serve. In addition, the study was designed to gather information on teacher use of…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the Fight-Free Schools violence prevention process had an effect on the frequency of aggressive acts of elementary school students. Participants included approximately 600 students ranging from Kindergarten to 5th grade in a suburban school in the Midwestern United States. Data were collected over…

This study describes the 1st-year effects of a Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support on four schools in impoverished communities in rural west Texas. The authors present pre- and postdescriptive data that demonstrate the positive effect upon decreasing discipline referrals, lowering in school suspension rates, and reducing failure rates. The…

The authors surveyed 233 elementary special educators in 23 states to determine (a) how the teaching of self-regulation strategies and classroom setting affected their perceptions of the importance of teaching self-determination, (b) the frequency with which they did so, and (c) the barriers to promoting self-determination. Results indicated that…

Co-teaching has increasingly been implemented over the past 20 years as a shared responsibility alternative to more restrictive special education models for providing service to students with disabilities. Results of local school system research in Maryland during this 20-year period are reviewed suggesting that improved special education student…