The Common Core State Standards present the greatest opportunity in decades to improve the quality of education afforded to all students. Uniformly raising standards across the majority of states and increasing the rigor of assessments sets an ambitious bar of college and career readiness for all students. Furthermore, assessing students against…

Living in poverty increases the likelihood that students with disabilities will experience poor postschool outcomes, including unemployment, underemployment, and limited postsecondary education. The effects of the intersection of poverty and disability persist into adulthood where the employment rate for adults with disabilities is only one fourth…

Society has witnessed significant improvements in the lives of students receiving transition services over the past 30 years. The field of transition has developed an array of evidence-based interventions and promising practices; however, secondary school reform efforts have often overlooked these approaches for youth without disabilities. If we…

The Special Education Division of the Office of Public Instruction (OPI) provides many services to Montana schools to assist them in providing a quality education to all students. The programs managed through this division are all aligned with Superintendent Juneau's Graduation Matters Montana initiative. The special education division is…

The Council of Chief State School Officers' "Accommodations Manual: How to Select, Administer, and Evaluate the Use of Accommodations for Instruction and Assessment of Students with Disabilities" was first developed to establish guidelines for states to use for the selection, administration, and evaluation of accommodations for…