The authors speculate only about relatively short-term advances in special education for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Speculation is confined to the overlapping areas of core values, technologies, neuroscience, and law/policy. In core values, the authors hope to see a resurgence of commitment to special, effective instruction…

In 2017, the Supreme Court ruled on a special education case Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District. In this important case, the High Court addressed the degree of educational benefit necessary for a school district to fulfill the requirements for a free appropriate public education (FAPE) under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act…

In this review, a conceptualization of oppositional defiant (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD) is presented according to which social learning processes in these disorders are affected by neurocognitive dysfunctions. Neurobiological studies in ODD and CD suggest that the ability to make associations between behaviors and negative and positive…

The number of youth with serious emotional disorders has increased tremendously; unfortunately, meeting the needs of such children has been a challenge. In an effort to deal with the challenging behaviour exhibited by children and youths, expensive out-of-home placements such as juvenile justice centres and clinical and psychiatric…

This study determined school-level curricular, assessment, and accountability policies and practices in private and public day treatment and residential schools for elementary-age children with emotional or behavioral disorders (E/BD). A national random sample of 271 (56.45%) principals and 229 (47.70%) teachers responded to a mail survey. No…

Achieving positive postschool outcomes continues to be a challenge for many students. These challenges are compounded for students with disabilities, even years after the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (1990; IDEA) required systematic transition planning. In this era of accountability through high-stakes testing, schools and families…

The Fostering Individualized Assistance Program (FIAP) was driven by permanency and family-focused values and involved intense case management to ensure that services could be adjusted as children's situations and needs changed. Compared to children in standard foster care, FIAP children with, or at risk for, emotional/behavioral disorders showed…

Some accommodations that are offered to students with emotional behavior disorders (EBD) do little to remediate a diagnosed disability, resulting instead in enabling the continuance of the condition. IDEA specifies that access to educational opportunities include accommodations both in "instruction and assessment" (Byrnes, 2008, p. 307).…

Discusses the development and preliminary evaluation of an experimental statewide system of services in North Carolina for seriously behaviorally/emotionally disturbed adolescents. The program successfully provides these youngsters with appropriate treatment, education, training, and care suited to their individual needs, including community-based…

In the United States, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004) mandates functional assessment based behavioral support plans for all students with disabilities who display challenging behavior. However, very few studies have been undertaken to examine the effectiveness of the functional assessment-based behavioral plans with high…

Academic outcomes for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) are poor. Unfortunately, insufficient attention is paid in research and textbooks to academic difficulties and students with EBD. The purpose of this special issue is to review research-based strategies and interventions for teaching children and youth with EBD. In the…

The relationship between transition planning/coordinating interventions and transition outcomes for secondary-aged youth with disabilities was explored in this systematic review. A total of 31 studies intervening with 859 youth with a wide variety of disabilities were reviewed. Using the transition intervention framework of Kohler and Field (2003)…

Analysis of 214 Individualized Education Programs for students with behavior disorders assigned to public school resource, self-contained, and cross-categorical and residential/institutional special education programs found many lacked mandated components and contained discrepancies between annual goals and present performance levels across age…

In light of the discipline provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act emphasizing functional assessments and positive behavioral interventions as well as new responsibilities for the Individualized Education Program team, this article discusses the problems that school divisions are encountering when implementing these…

Reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) specifies that a behavioral intervention plan (BIP) must be developed for students with disabilities under certain disciplinary exclusions. IDEA, however, does not provide details as to what should be included in BIPs, and this lack of specific guidance often results in…