About 13 percent of children aged 3 through 21 enrolled in public schools received special education services in school year 2015-16, and about 3 percent of children from birth through age 2 received special education services. Concerns about the difficulties identifying and evaluating children for special education have been raised by the media,…

Short-term faculty-led study abroad programs have been offered in various institutions across the United States. Despite the many program offerings, students who are interested in the niche marketplace have been experiencing limited program participation. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to introduce the use of online communication…

State aid for special education shapes local decisions about identifying students for special education, the programs and services to which students have access and in which students with disabilities are educated, and how local educators structure and administer their special education programs. The connection between state funding for special…

Research in the implementation of inclusive education in international contexts shows that progress in the Global South appears to lag behind nations in the North. In this paper, I investigate this phenomenon not by associating it with regional cultural and socioeconomic resource limitations, but by reconsidering the assumptions within inclusive…

Many states with preschool programs, as well as other interested organizations and individuals, have undertaken research and evaluation efforts to improve their understanding of state preschool program implementation, results, and impacts. A 2004 review by Gilliam and Zigler examined state efforts to evaluate preschool programs from 1997 to 2003.…

This study explores the similarities and differences of relatively newly established tiered intervention models for the support of students with special needs in the United States (response to intervention) and in Finland (learning and schooling support). The current models in both countries consist of several tiers with fairly similar…

Education is a public health issue. Poor educational outcomes are correlated with many health and social ills. To improve the quality of education, it will be necessary to take advantage of the leverage points of policy, evidence, and implementation science. The idea of evidence informing policy may be non-controversial, but a closer examination…

The history of schooling for students with disabilities in the United States is marked by exclusion and, until the passage of the "Education for All Children Act" in the 1970s, a substantial number of students with disabilities were denied free public education and many more were poorly served by public schools. The requirement that all…

One of the primary challenges in developing effective accountability systems is determining how best to include students with disabilities. The purpose of this paper is to report on the initial implementation of one option for including students with disabilities into the accountability system in the United States. In 2007, federal guidance…

With the passage of P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, now the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and subsequent amendments, states and jurisdictions have made great strides in the provision of services to young children, ages 3 through 5 years, with disabilities. As of Fall 2007, America's…

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provided $9 billion in education benefits to service-members and veterans in fiscal year 2010, mostly through the new Post-9/11 GI Bill. In providing education benefits, VA relies on State Approving Agencies (SAA) to approve schools; and on schools to report students' enrollment status. US Government…

With the passage of P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, now the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and subsequent amendments, states and jurisdictions have made great strides in the provision of services to young children, ages 3 through 5 years, with disabilities. As of Fall 2009, America's…

The church has a great responsibility to minister and provide a place where children can experience the love of God. The spiritual journey of children is often nurtured in the Sunday school room, Bible class, or some other church setting. Under the best of circumstances, this journey is a formable task. One must consider the challenges that arise…

"Part C Updates" is a compilation of information on various aspects of the Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities (Part C) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This is the tenth volume in a series of compilations, which included two editions of Part H Updates, the former name of the…

Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency program (TTW) was designed to enhance the market for services that help disability beneficiaries become economically self-sufficient by providing beneficiaries with a wide range of choices for obtaining services and to give employment-support service providers new financial incentives to serve beneficiaries…