This article responds to rejoinder by Courtade, Spooner, Browder, and Jimenez (2012) of our initial article (Ayres, Lowrey, Douglas, & Sievers, 2011) describing the importance in making individualized curriculum decisions for students with severe disabilities. We point out our agreements with the rejoinder (reiterating statements from our…

A methodical review of the literature revealed that, although similarities exist, the needs of beginning special educators differ significantly from those of the general population of beginning teachers in the following areas: procedural information, curriculum and instruction, classroom management, and collegial interactions. The article reminds…

Response to Intervention (RtI) has promise for helping students, particularly ones with disabilities, achieve higher levels of academic and behavioral success in the general education classroom. What does it mean for gifted students or for those who are gifted and have a learning disability, such as twice-exceptional students? How might current…

Public education has worked to address the needs of all students with disabilities, although it has been a gradual process. The most pivotal change in public education for students with disabilities in general education classrooms dates to the implementation of the federal law, Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, which is now known…

Transition from high school to post-school activities is recognized as a serious challenge for students with disabilities (Shandra & Hogan, 2008; Wehman, 2006). The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (2006) outlines the development of the IEP and transition plan as an essential task. However, the preponderance of secondary…

Response to Intervention (RtI) is sweeping the country, changing the way children's educational needs are recognized and met. RtI was introduced through special education legislation as part of IDEA 2004 and offered an alternative approach for identifying students with learning disabilities (Bender & Shores, 2007). RtI is designed to bring…

Academic accommodations are intended to increase access to education for students with disabilities. Although the concept seems simple, implementation is challenging because of the ambiguous wording of some accommodations. This article reviews confusing aspects of frequently encountered accommodations. Research-based guidelines for writing…

This annual report provides a national perspective on Title II-D for federal fiscal year (FY) 2008 (2008-09 school year), as well as emergent trends based on data from the past seven years. Title II-D is the only federal education program with funds explicitly targeted to support state and local effective uses of educational technology in the …

Many teachers of students with mild disabilities experience difficulty writing IEPs, and they lack a foundation in the regular education curriculum of academic skills and sequences associated with each grade level. This book was designed to provide this foundation. Presented in the form of scope and sequence charts that can be used as objectives…

Involving state content standards in the development of individualized education programs (IEPs) for students with disabilities--a practice most often referred to as "standards-based IEPs"--is a growing area of interest in special education. The Access Center, a federally funded technical assistance resource, is dedicated to helping…

This article presents questions related to legal issues of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004 and the changes it has made with regard to local education agency (LEA) and the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process. The author's answers to these questions are presented. In answering the general question--to what…

This article addresses how teacher preparation programs can best respond to the broad, complex calls for reform in ways that are locally meaningful and honor academic integrity, but that are also true to the intent of the reform mandates. The authors begin with an overview of some of the federal and state initiatives that are presenting challenges…

The purpose of this document is to provide operators with implementation and operational technical assistance related to special education in charter schools. Special education is a very complicated component of public education and providing operators with technical assistance regarding special education is particularly challenging. This primer…