The reauthorization of IDEA mandates that students with a disability must be considered for assistive technology (AT). However, in order to implement the mandate, teachers and related service personnel must be knowledgeable about many aspects of AT. The purpose of this study was to gauge the extent to which personnel preparation programs believe…

The primary purpose of this study is to determine a preliminary national percentage of students who are "504-only." The survey data reveal that 504-only students represent 1.2% of the public school population. There is a significant difference in the 504-only percentage with regard to school level, with middle and high schools having a…

The intention of this study was to examine three factors regarding the implementation of the Response to Intervention (RtI) model. First, the study discovered what professional development opportunities were afforded to administrators and certified faculty to support the implementation of the RtI model within schools that make AYP and those that…

Response to Intervention (RTI) employs a multi-tiered approach to providing targeted interventions for students who are at risk for school failure. With the reauthorization of the Individual with Disabilities Act (IDEA) 2004 and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) 2001 districts are given the option to implement RTI prior to student referral for special…

As a result of the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004), Response to Intervention (RTI) became a legal and acceptable basis for determining special education eligibility. While there may be evidence that RTI has had positive effects on the prereferral process for special education in some schools, there…

Preparation of high quality personnel to provide educational services to students with disabilities living in rural areas is, at best, challenging. Findings from a comprehensive study concerning the status of the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in rural settings and the issues such implementation presents…

The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (Hall & Hord, 2006) is one tool educational leaders can use to understand the process of change and teachers' stage-related concerns when implementing innovations. This paper presents select findings from a comparative case study of two urban elementary schools in which changes in teachers' reports of their…

The primary goal of this project was to increase schools' resources and staff skills in providing function-based behavior support to individual students with chronic problem behaviors. Over the course of a 3-year period, 10 school teams received training in and on-site consultation on functional behavioral assessment (FBA) and behavior support…

In 1990 the Congress of the United States passed Public Law 101-476, The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This law mandated that students with disabilities be educated in, what this act calls, the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). Educating students with disabilities in the LRE is also known as inclusion and the terms may be…