For this 23rd article in the series reviewing recent court decisions concerning appropriate school psychology practice from both professional and legal perspectives, the topic is the substantive standard for free appropriate public education (FAPE) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), with a focus on the classification of…

The purpose of this brief is to help families and educators understand the right of students with disabilities who need accessible educational materials to receive these materials in a timely manner. This right is based on provisions in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as well as in the disability civil rights statutes…

Culturally and linguistically diverse families present schools with unique challenges related to eligibility and programming for special education. There has been a dearth in the literature for this population, especially from a legal standpoint. Existing literature has offered scarce information to address the legal rights and responsibilities of…

This study explores how institutional practices within a school district limit general education teachers' ability to comply with special education policies. While numerous special education issues exist within the school district studied here, my research examined institutional practices that negatively impacted inclusion of exceptional students…

This issue of the Occasional Papers Series aims to draw attention to the use of storytelling as a medium for provoking dialogue about inclusive classrooms and school communities. It offers readers stories of classroom life that provide insights into understanding the complexities that make up the lives of children with disabilities, their…

The purpose of this study is to investigate factors that may influence school administrators' disciplinary decisions involving students with disabilities. Confirmatory factor analysis suggests that the investigator-developed measures adequately represent the hypothesized latent factors per the pattern of observed responses. The hypothesized…

Several recent documents and presentations, most but not all from the British Columbia (BC) Ministry of Education, suggest that considerable changes are being floated as options for redesigning inclusive educational approaches in the BC K-12 public education system. The documents include: (1) "The BC Education Plan"; (2) "Global…

Many preservice secondary teachers feel well prepared by their teacher preparation programs to teach their content area. However, these same preservice teachers overwhelmingly indicated that more instruction in serving students with special needs-modifications, management techniques, paperwork and educational terms-was warranted. They understand…

The number of students with disabilities pursuing higher education is increasing; therefore, faculty and administrators have a growing need to understand their responsibilities in preventing discrimination against this population (Gamble, 2000). The purpose of this article is to articulate disability legislation mandates and applications to…