Response to Intervention (RtI) has been widely accepted by many school districts in the United States as an instructional method that can be used to consistently decrease learning gaps and ultimately enhance learning for all students. Though implementation of RtI as an instructional method has not been legally mandated, many school districts have…

School administrators are responsible for ensuring state and federal special education laws and regulations are being implemented properly. This study examined the amount of training a Virginia school principal receives while attending principal preparation programs as well as professional development offered by their school division on how to…

The Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) of 1997 demands that assistive technology be considered for all students with disabilities, yet it is vastly underutilized amongst people with mental retardation (Arc, 1993; Wehmeyer, 1995), learning disabilities (Jeffs, Behrmann, & Bannan-Ritland, 2006; Lewis, 1998; Raskind, Higgins,…

"If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there." This oft-cited but not-quite-accurate quote is from the Lewis Carroll's classic children's tale, Alice in Wonderland. In Carroll's altered reality, the conversation between the disoriented Alice and the mysterious Cheshire Cat actually went like this: "Would you…

The national landscape of education and professional development is changing. Instructional personnel of students with severe disabilities are frequently untrained, professionally isolated, and in need of current knowledge and best practice in programming for these students. This article describes the need for a shift from a reliance on the…

The Census 2000 Brief (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2004b) indicates that English is not the heritage language of approximately one in five Americans, and the number of limited English proficient (LEP) students, also known as English language learners (ELLs), grew about 50 percent in the last decade. It is estimated that nearly 400,000 ELL…

The National Association of State Directors of Special Education has established the Professional Development Leadership Academy to assist states in meeting state improvement plan requirements of the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Professional development is crucial to this endeavor and will be accomplished…

Based on the findings of a 1998 conference on the new assessment and accountability requirements in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), this report discusses critical issues that surround the assessment provisions included in the 1997 IDEA amendments and contains recommendations related to state and district-wide assessments…

This brief paper summarizes information concerning use of the traumatic brain injury (TBI) disability classification by states and the nature of state-level activities related to the education of children and youth with TBI. It notes addition of the TBI disability category to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1990 and provides the…

This report discusses the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that require states to develop alternate assessments for students with disabilities who cannot participate in large-scale assessment programs. The report also profiles five state alternate assessment practices that have been developed or are emerging and…

This 5-volume directory describes more than 1,200 discretionary grants and contracts supported by the Research to Practice Division of the Office of Special Education Programs. The projects are grouped into sections representing the seven program areas of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments (1997), Part D. This volume, the…

This resource guide is designed to assist practitioners in implementing the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as they make decisions regarding the education placements of students with disabilities who exhibit dangerous behaviors. In addition, suggestions are included to assist schools in developing plans to…

This report analyzes information received from 37 states and non-state jurisdictions related to the new provision in the 1997 Amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that requires participation of general education teachers in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process. Analysis indicates: (1) 15 of the states…

Reviews the major substantive amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act being proposed by the U.S. Senate, including changes in state and local educational agency eligibility; least restrictive environment; private school placement; evaluations, reevaluations, and Individualized Education Programs; discipline procedures;…

This report provides an overview of selected state initiatives related to the training and supervision of paraeducators serving students with disabilities. The five states highlighted in the document were selected because of the significant work each has done in the area of paraeducators. In all five states, paraeducator initiatives began prior to…