This National Services Snapshot summarizes key data on demographics and services for children from birth to age five and pregnant women served by Head Start, Early Head Start, and Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs. The data in this Snapshot is a subset of the annual Program Information Report (PIR) submission to the Office of Head Start.…

In this article, the authors provide snapshots of a student's case in which she received an Individualized Education Program (IEP) after being diagnosed as having a speech and language disorder in an urban Head Start program located in the northeast region of the United States. This case can shed light on the complexities of the literacy practices…

The 16 Race to the Top district winners, pushed by $400 million in federal grants that put a premium on personalized learning, are embarking on vastly different makeovers of the classroom experience--from districtwide approaches to a narrower blueprint focused on middle school math. Despite the divergent approaches, a review of the winning…

Between 65 and 70 percent of youth in the juvenile justice system have mental health disorders, with some studies estimating that at least 20 percent of these youth have severe disorders that significantly impair functioning. Many of these youth are entitled to adequate and responsive mental health services through federal programs like Medicaid's…

Assessment of students with disabilities is a critical component of special education. In addition to the complexity of assessment (e.g., high-stakes assessments, progress monitoring, diagnosis), the issue is complicated further by the use of acronyms. This can make both explaining and understanding important information related to students very…

Federal legislation supports instruction of content areas for all individuals, yet professionals in the field of special education are left trying to find the relevant functional outcomes for science and other content instruction for students with disabilities enrolled in a functional curriculum. Research on effective instruction for students with…

The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) funds schools located on 63 reservations in 23 states across the nation. Of the 183 schools, 59 are Bureau operated and 124 are tribally controlled. One-hundred and sixteen schools provide instructional programs, 55 provide instructional as well as boarding services and 12 peripheral dormitories provide only…

The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) funds schools located on 63 reservations in 23 states across the nation. Of the 183 schools, 59 are Bureau operated and 124 are tribally controlled. One-hundred and sixteen schools provide instructional programs, 55 provide instructional as well as boarding services and 12 peripheral dormitories provide only…

Preschool teachers face increasing pressure to ensure that "all" children acquire the competencies they need to start on the path to becoming successful readers in the early grades, including children who may enter preschool with exceptionally weak skills. This article describes efforts to provide individually tailored supports to relatively…

This paper offers a list of questions and corresponding answers about the 4-year cohort graduation rate. Answers to the following questions are presented: (1) Why don't GED (General Educational Development) students count as graduates?; (2) How does a district code students who have moved out of state? How should a district code a student who…

A systematic analysis of the references to "scientifically based research" (SBR) and closely related terms, such as "peer-reviewed research" (PRR), in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) legislation, regulations, commentary, and case law reveal that SBR and its primary variants apply largely to state support…

The largest issue for schools is not extending the school day or year--as useful as those policies might be--but of meeting time requirements within the constraints of the budgets and personnel given them. Policy makers rarely understand how their policies impact practice. Author Marilyn Crawford suggests a policy-talks-to-practice strategy that…

States and other educational entities receiving Part B funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) submitted their Annual Performance Reports (APRs) and Section 618 Table 6 data together to the U.S. Secretary of Education on or before February 1, 2009. These reports may have been modified during the following few months,…

This brief is intended to provide State Education Agency (SEA) and Local Education Agency (LEA) educators with a brief overview of key components of GraduateFIRST, a Georgia program targeting issues impacting school completion for students with disabilities. Georgia's GraduateFIRST program has redefined the state's approach to raising graduation…

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 (Public Law 105-220) marked a major reform in the nation's job training system. It consolidated more then 60 federal training programs into three block grants to states: (1) adult employment and training; (2) disadvantaged youth employment and training; and (3) adult education and family literacy…