Administrators in public schools are undoubtedly familiar with their duties under federal law to serve students with disabilities in the educational program. Far fewer, however, are aware of their legal obligations to these same students in after-school athletics and extracurricular activities. Are students with disabilities entitled to…

Transition is movement or change without interruption. It should be a smooth flow from one place or condition to another. While the transition plan for a student receiving special education services is designed to prepare him or her for life after high school, transition can start when a child enters preschool. The second of six distinct stages of…

Evaluation is a process that helps parents and schools determine whether a child has a disability. Under IDEA a "child with a disability" is one who qualifies for special education and related services. A child cannot receive special education without an evaluation. Evaluation is completed in all areas of suspected disability. The…

This paper focuses on "technologies for voice" that are related to the self-determination of youth with developmental disabilities. The authors describe a self-determination model that values family-focused, community-referenced pedagogies employing "new media" to give voice to youth and their families. In line with the adage that a picture is…

Today's special education teachers are expected to be able to give all students access to the general education curriculum (McLaughlin & Thurlow, 2003). This responsibility can be particularly challenging given the wide range of ages, ability levels, and needs of the students they teach (Huefner, 2000). This paper describes results of a thorough…

This article presents the fourth part in the 12 installment series that presents the experiences of a fictitious couple, Amita and Samir, as they learn to adapt to the reality of having a premature baby with special needs. It describes the services provided by various community resources to children and youth with special healthcare needs and…

This report describes research on the portfolio process that the Oceanside (California) Unified School District uses to identify and plan instruction for students in the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program. The report is based on interviews conducted with educators in two elementary schools that participated in the GATE curriculum,…

The KIK (Kentucky Individualized Kindergartens) project, a collaborative project between Kentucky's Department of Education and the Chapel Hill (NC) Training-Outreach project, is designed to serve high risk children. KIK provides early identification of high risk kindergarteners, development of individualized education programs, and implementation…

The focus of this factsheet is the variation among English local education authorities (LEAs) in the proportion of the school population placed in special schools. Statistical data are presented to show how the national proportion of pupils aged 5-15 attending special schools in England changed between 1982 and 1987. Additional data provide the…

The role of artificial intelligence expert systems in administrative issues in special education is examined. Mandate Consultant (MC) is one such system designed to provide a second opinion on the consistency of school officials' actions in implementing the Individualized Education Program team process. MC employs rules based on the Education For…

The Tri-I (Innovative, Integrative, Individualized Curriculum)--TRIIC--contains a systematic method to train preschool teachers in using the curriculum for behaviorally handicapped and/or nonhandicapped children. The curriculum is designed to aid teachers in: developing individualized goals for handicapped and nonhandicapped children…

The Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) special education programs function with a multidisciplinary team called the Child Management Committee. The Child Study Committee, which usually meets once a week, develops, implements, and monitors comprehensive, multidisciplinary assessment procedures; summarizes assessment results in written…

Characteristics of youthful offenders are described, and the role of the individualized education program (IEP) in a training school is considered. The bulk of the paper discusses Project Adventure, a therapeutic program for offenders which emphasizes physical fitness games, risk taking activities, initiative taking, and group cooperation to solve…

A research project was conducted at five Missouri correctional facilities to demonstrate the components that lead to a successful educational project. Objectives included using Adult Performance Level (APL) materials; establishing an inmate classification and referral system; and disseminating this information nationwide among correctional…

The prevocational program at the School for Contemporary Education (SCE), Springfield, Virginia, for severely handicapped students (4 to 18 years old) aims at mastery of annual work adjustment objectives by the students and involves development of evaluation procedures, development and implementation of vocational modules for work adjustment…