As mandated by federal law, all students with a disability who qualify for special education and related services must be provided a free appropriate public education (FAPE). With ongoing changes to statutory definitions and legal interpretation of what constitutes a FAPE under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004), it can…

Special education administrators at both the district and school level are serving in critical roles that uniquely position them to improve academic and behavioral outcomes of students with disabilities by ensuring the special education teachers under their supervision are prepared to deliver an evidence-based form of intensive…

An increased emphasis on collecting and using data in schools has occurred, in part, because of the implementation of multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS). Commonly referred to as response to intervention in the academic domain and school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports in the behavioral domain, these initiatives have a…

Schools implementing Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) are often confronted with concerns from a variety of educational stakeholders about school climate, teaching behavioral expectations, the role of reinforcement, and labeling students. Administrators should be prepared to respond to these concerns with theoretical and…

The requirement that individualized education program (IEP) teams make decisions about the participation of students with disabilities in general or alternate state- and district-wide assessments is nearly two decades old. The decisions that must be made have become more complicated with the addition, in some states, of alternate assessments based…

School accountability reports reveal that wide achievement gaps exist among different subgroups of students in PK-12 schools. Research findings reveal that general and special education teachers improve their classroom practices when working in professional learning communities (PLCs). In addition, research shows that special education teachers…

Principals are a critical component of creating a positive school environment that supports new teachers to meet the diverse needs of their students. The induction process for beginning special educators can often be more challenging for school administrators and may require different supports than those provided for novice general educators. The…

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…

Unlike data that show that all states require credentials for special education teachers, national data indicate that only 27 states require licensure/certification/endorsement as an administrator of special education. The titles used by states to identify the local director of special education include administrator of special education, director…

The purpose of this study was to develop and field test an employment screening instrument for special education teachers. The instrument developed demonstrated good reliability and concurrent validity. Both principals and special education administrators could effectively use the instrument. The instrument shows promise for helping administrators…

For the National Center to Improve Policy and Practice in Special Education Professional Development, a group of district administrators recently completed an analysis of state policy on induction and mentoring. State policy is important because it helps districts design and deliver induction programs and supplements local resources that are made…

The purpose of this study was to describe special education administrators' reports of the social supports (House, 1981) that ameliorate the stress inherent in their professional role. This study used a mixed methods design and was conducted in two sequential phases involving 153 special education administrators in a northeastern state. During…

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'…

Over the years, the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) has searched for mechanisms to share information that is important and helpful to the CASE membership. During the past year, CASE initiated the use of "Survey Monkey" as a mechanism to obtain information and opinions from the membership. This article shares some of the input…

Few educators today would argue with statements about the growing diversity of the children being educated in most schools. There is acceptance and often celebration of this diversity, including the growth and dispersal of the population of children and youth from diverse linguistic backgrounds, but there are also concerns about the ability to…