Since the passing of the Higher Education Opportunity Act in 2008, more students with intellectual disability are being admitted to inclusive postsecondary education programs at U.S. colleges and universities. One of the challenges many students with intellectual disability face when arriving on a college campus is learning to navigate their new…

Language proficiency assessment (LPA) serves as a gatekeeper to accessing language services for English learners (ELs) with and without disabilities. Moreover, research suggests that EL services are often deemphasized compared with special education services for students with significant cognitive disabilities (SCDs). We highlight the…

This final of six briefs analyzing data from the U.S. Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), covering the 2020-21 school year, explores the characteristics of the 176 charter schools with a specific focus on students with disabilities. This group, representing 2.3% of charter schools nationwide, is heavily concentrated in a handful of states and is…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) (IDEIA) requires practitioners to use educational evaluations to assess students in K-12 schools that are suspected of having a disability. The resulting data provides the basis for determining whether students qualify for special education services, their precise educational…

Designing an effective K-12 alternate English language proficiency assessment (ELP) for English learners with significant cognitive disabilities (ELSCDs) is a substantial undertaking, particularly given the absence of design models for such an assessment and limited empirical research to guide test design teams. These challenges emphasized the…

This position paper examines the intersectionality of race and disability and the impact on inclusive postsecondary educational (PSE) opportunities at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Based on a history of segregation and oppression those who are Black and those who have an intellectual disability (ID) share many of the same…

Following a sustained increase in the number of inclusive educational experiences in K-12 settings (U.S. Department of Education, 2019), higher education institutions (HEIs) are offering opportunities for students with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) to engage in inclusive postsecondary education (IPSE; Think College, 2019). Some…

Time trends in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID) prevalence from the United States Individuals with Disabilities Education Act data were computed from 2000 to 2011 for each state and each age from 6 to 17. These trends did not support the hypothesis that diagnostic substitution for ID can explain the ASD rise over…

Transitioning from high school to the next phase of life can be especially challenging for youth with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (IDD). Federal mandates are in place to provide individualized transition services to students with disabilities up to age 22; however, there is variability in the location of service delivery. A…

The term severe disabilities refers to any student who is eligible for special education services in the United States under the category of moderate to severe cognitive impairment. The term takes into consideration a combination of shortages in both cognitive performance and appropriate behavior. Recently, in the field of severe disabilities, the…

Objectives: This paper seeks to explore from an historical perspective the way in which political climates impinge upon the public and professional perception of what constitutes appropriate provision for people with an intellectual disability. Methods: A systematic review of literature relating to policy and provision for people with an…

The least restrictive environment (LRE) mandate of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has long been questioned as to whether it has fulfilled the original intent of the law. This advocacy brief provides an updated analysis of the flaws underlying the principle of LRE, a mandate that exists at the nexus of cultural beliefs about…

This report examines issues regarding needed alignment of services and collaboration among agencies and institutions of higher education (IHEs) to achieve the goal of supporting youth with intellectual disability (ID) to obtain increased academic learning, independent living, and competitive integrated employment through participation in…

This article discusses the creation of video modeling (VM) and video prompting (VP) interventions for teaching novel multi-step tasks to individuals with disabilities. This article reviews factors to consider when selecting skills to teach, and students for whom VM/VP may be successful, as well as the difference between VM and VP and circumstances…

Since the passage of the Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, educational services for students with extensive support needs (e.g., intellectual disability, autism, multiple disabilities) have been constantly evolving, with at least three overlapping waves of inquiry and practice. In this article we describe extant research, debate,…