The recruitment and retention of qualified early intervention (EI) personnel remains a challenge throughout many regions of the nation. In response to this challenge, states and localities are employing a range of innovative strategies. Based on examples drawn from around the country, including examples provided by the National Early Childhood…

Based on a survey of states, this document summarizes state-level approaches to using surrogate parents in order to meet the needs of children with disabilities. Most respondents noted that their states had issued policy or formal guidance pertaining to surrogate parents and children with disabilities, and most also described efforts to ensure…

In recent years, an increasing number of states have been moving towards the development and implementation of longitudinal data systems for tracking the progress of individual K-12 students with disabilities across their academic careers up to and including their postsecondary activities. In an effort to avoid duplication of data collection…

Teacher shortages have been steadily increasing across the nation, particularly in the field of special education. According to analyses conducted by the Center on Personnel Studies in Special Education (COPSSE), reasons for this include the fact that veteran special education teachers are retiring at a faster rate than new teachers are being…

Historically, many state education agencies (SEAs) have formally or informally used risk pools to provide extra funds to local education agencies (LEAs) serving students with high cost special education needs. With the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), SEAs have been encouraged to formalize their…

The number of children and youth identified with autism has grown exponentially over the past decade and a half. During 1992-93 (the first required reporting year for the category of autism) only 7,168 students with autism ages 6-21 were served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (U.S. Department of Education, 1994). This…

In 2004, nearly 30,000 students were included in the blind or visually impaired (B/VI) category (approximately .04% of the total public school population). This figure, however, only includes children and youth for whom blindness or visual impairment is identified as a primary disability. States indicate that these numbers may actually double or…

According to data collected in 2003 by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), just over 96,000 youth were incarcerated in juvenile correctional facilities throughout the United States (not including those being held in detention). An additional 10,000 youth were in state prisons or adult jails during the same time,…