Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) are private savings accounts funded by a deposit from the state government and managed by a parent. The deposit amount varies from state to state and is typically based on the state's per-pupil amount. To use an ESA, parents withdraw their child from the public school system and use ESA funds to purchase specified…

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors serving as barriers to effective building-level administrator participation in special education individualized education program (IEP) meetings. For the purposes of this study, research was conducted in the multidisciplinary areas of social cognitive theory and self-efficacy, along with an…

This study was conducted to better understand Latinx parent and family perceptions regarding the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) process. Interviews were conducted with Latinx parents whose children had been evaluated for special education eligibility at a local Colorado school district during the 2019-2020 school year. In order to determine…

Background/Context: Policies featuring individualized learning plans (ILPs) have become increasingly popular among states seeking to improve college and career readiness through early postsecondary planning. Although ILPs are featured in legislation for more than 35 states, limited work has been done on measuring their effectiveness to ensure that…

The closure of school buildings due to the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a particular hardship for many students with disabilities and their families. School buildings were closed effective March 18, 2020 through the end of the 2019-20 school year, and only some schools started the 2020-21 school year with traditional in-person classroom…

The audit objective for this report was to determine whether the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PA Education) and selected Pennsylvania local educational agencies have sufficient internal controls to ensure that individualized education programs (IEP) are developed in accordance with Federal and State requirements for children with…

The closure of school buildings due to the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a particular hardship for many students with disabilities and their families. School buildings were closed effective March 18, 2020 through the end of the 2019-20 school year, and only some schools have started the 2020-21 school year with traditional in-person classroom…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how parents of students with intellectual disabilities (ID) perceive the significance of LRE in IEPs and inclusion models at the elementary level in six school districts in northern Colorado. The sample included 13 parents of children with ID in grades K-5. The theory of…

The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine the effects of standards-based Individualized Education Programs (SB IEPs) on student achievement. Educators are required to develop IEPs for students with educational disabilities. The purpose of an IEP is to outline the goals and services to be provided to the student in order for the student…

This study investigated interactions between self-efficacy and IEP quality. Pre-service teachers in two similar student cohorts completed self-efficacy surveys for multi-tiered interventions and wrote IEPs using data for a child with severe disabilities. Researchers scored IEP quality using the "IEP Quality Inventory," rating quality of…

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to immediate school closures resulting in online learning. Online learning under such circumstances has presented challenges for teachers of students with mild to extensive support needs. The current study interviewed twenty special education teachers about the strategies they used when teaching online and the…

The purpose of this qualitative investigation was to understand the beliefs of parents and school personnel about involving secondary-age students with extensive support needs in their specialized health care procedures at school. Participants included parents, special education teachers, school nurses, one-to-one nurses, and paraprofessionals…

Inclusive post-secondary education (PSE) for students with intellectual disabilities (IDs) is becoming increasingly common in colleges and universities. A majority of these inclusive PSE programs focus on academic enrichment, socialization, independent living skills, integrated work experiences, and career skills. Thus, in inclusive PSE programs,…

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams to hold virtual IEP meetings for students with disabilities instead of conducting them in person. Prior to the pandemic, research explored school professionals' and parents' perceptions of the IEP meeting experience in the context of in-person meetings. The purpose of…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, parents quickly assumed the role of teachers to support their children's learning at home. Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students often rely on additional accommodations to access their education. The authors investigated the perspectives of 40 parents of K--12 DHH students on the use of virtual learning during the…