Missouri Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support (MO SW-PBS), with support from the Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), has provided training and support to build local capacity and positively impact student outcomes. Numerous years of descriptive data and a recent peer-reviewed research article both show the effects of…

By being public entities, charter schools must meet U.S. federal legislative mandates (e.g., Section 504) in providing a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) to students with disabilities--just as their traditional district public school counterparts must do. This legal update reviews a prominent case, "Lawton et al. v. Success Academy…

Students with specific learning disabilities (SLDs) sometimes experience anger, which can negatively affect their academic performance and social relationships if not managed properly. Prevention and intervention programs are beneficial in addressing this issue. Bibliotherapy is an effective method for anger management and is categorized into…

In this article, two instructional practices, "Numbered Heads Together" (NHT) and "Carousel Brainstorming" (CB), are discussed to guide instructors through the intentional practice of incorporating flexible groupings (CEC, HLP 17) in their daily instruction for the purpose of creating Culturally Relevant PK-12 Learning…

As every Montessorian knows, Dr. Montessori's pedagogy evolved through her work with "phrenasthenic," or disabled and neurodivergent, children in Rome (Trabalzini, 2011). This historical knowledge may lead to the assumption that Montessori education epitomizes inclusive education--that Montessori is indeed education for all children,…

Teacher-Student Relationships (TSRs) contribute to a wide range of positive outcomes for K-12 students. However, many practitioners struggle to build positive relationships with students with challenging behaviors. In this article, we describe how TSR interventions can be structured using an established and common framework: Multi-Tiered Systems…

After months or years of remote and hybrid learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students are benefiting from increased socialization, improved access to services, and a return to their regular routines. For some students, being back in school may mean returning to an environment in which they were bullied. This brief provides an overview of the…

The Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) and its effects are described in this article. The effects of MTSS are associated with improved academic outcomes across various domains, reduced behavioral issues, and enhanced social and emotional development. MTSS also promotes equity by addressing the diverse needs of all students from various…

Problem-solving is a skill of fundamental importance for populations with developmental delays, and especially for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Training students with ASD to solve ill-defined problems is a challenging objective for educational and therapeutic teams. This is due to the myriad of unpredictable situations presented…

Students with disabilities may demonstrate high rates of off-task behavior, resulting in poor academic achievement. To decrease students' off-task behavior, teachers can identify student-guided supportive strategies to limit the amount of time they dedicate to behavior management. Moreover, when teachers use effective student-guided strategies…

A tremendous amount of evidence supports the importance of building relationships between educators and students (Kincaide et al., 2020). Because of this, there is an emerging focus in both research and practice on how student-teacher relationships are assessed, the impact of these relationships on student outcomes, and methods for building and…

This article presents a structured blueprint for school psychologists to assess and intervene in cases of automatically maintained self-injurious behavior (SIB) while adhering to the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) mandate. We outline a six-step process for conducting Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) of automatically maintained SIB,…

The ability to interact with others in socially appropriate ways is critical for functioning in the community, school, and at home. These interaction skills are considered to be a crucial component of social resiliency and are believed to be important developmental skills, particularly for children/youth with disabilities. This article discusses…

The relationship between frustration tolerance and academic behavior is well documented in the existing literature, specifically in regard to students with learning disabilities. This column addresses these connections and then provides specific strategies to address low frustration tolerance and increase emotional self-regulation in the…

Self-monitoring has proven to be an effective strategy for improving academic performance for students with learning disabilities (LD). In addition to academics, these interventions have improved actions such as task completion, engagement, and on-task behaviors. As a supplement to self-monitoring, self-talk strategies have similar effects in…