The importance of reducing restraint and restrictive interventions in special schools has been recognised across the four nations of the UK. Government guidance for England and Wales, and recommendations produced by Restraint Reduction Scotland, both reference Positive behavioural support (PBS) as an evidence-based approach that can be used to…

This brief addresses two evaluation questions: (1) What are the effects of supporting educators to intentionally intensify their practice on their overall implementation of targeted classroom practices (i.e., prompting, engaging, and praising)? and (2) What are the effects of educators intentionally intensifying their classroom practices on the…

Relative to peers without disabilities, students with disabilities are more likely to experience exclusionary discipline. Specifically, students with disabilities experience disproportionate levels of restraint, seclusion, out-of-school suspension, expulsion, and contacts with law enforcement. Further, after controlling for race (Black/African…

Background: Students with behavioral support needs are educated in elementary classrooms daily. However, teachers receive limited training to support students, resulting in limited preventative and intervention services for such students. It is currently unclear what types of training preservice and inservice teachers receive, their perceptions of…

The long-term academic outcomes for many students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are strikingly poor. It has been decades since students with ADHD were specifically recognized as eligible for special education through the Other Health Impaired category under the Education for all Handicapped Children Act of 1975, and…

In U.S. school systems, anti-Blackness and ableism are organizing principles that constitute a system of exclusion through which to dismiss complex intersectional identities of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students with and without disabilities. Racialized outcome disparities in the identification of disability and school…

There is a plethora of literature regarding disproportionality in special education, school discipline, and the School-to-Prison Pipeline (STPP). The literature also describes the far-reaching ramifications for African American and other historically marginalized students not receiving the quality education to which they are entitled. These…

In contrast with professional norms and best practices, the legal requirements for functional behavioral assessments (FBAs) and behavior intervention plans (BIP) are meager in scope and specificity (Collins & Zirkel, 2017). Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (2017) makes no mention of FBAs or BIPs, and the Individuals with Disabilities…

As schools expand access to technology devices and internet connectivity improves throughout the United States, educators can utilize technology for continuity of instruction during school disruptions (e.g., out-of-school suspension, catastrophes, disasters, or illnesses). Remote learning provides students with instruction outside of the physical…

The purpose of this article is to provide Catholic educators, administrators, families, and broader parish communities an understanding of critical elements required to effectively include all students, particularly those with disabilities, in Catholic schools. With an understanding that Catholic schools enroll and will continue to add not only…

More than 725,000 of California's K-12 students qualified for special education services in 2018-19, but they entered a system that is often ill equipped to serve them. This brief summarizes the findings from 13 research publications produced as part of the PACE Policy Research Panel "Special Education: Organizing Schools to Serve Students…

Inclusion of students with diverse learning needs, including those with disabilities, in Catholic schools is becoming more prevalent. Despite a long history of the call to serve all learners, Catholic schools have been slow to welcome students who are academically and behaviorally diverse. Meeting the needs of all learners requires understanding…

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most prevalent childhood neurodevelopmental disorder. Arising from a complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors, along with epigenetic changes during foetal development, ADHD is a lifelong condition that impacts children's academic and social functioning in numerous adverse…

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) III, the purpose of this commentary is to describe school-based and school-relevant interventions and instructional approaches for children and youth with autism that have been developed and employed during that time period. The commentary begins with a brief…

In this article, Kervick and colleagues posit that restorative practices (RP) implementation promises to mitigate educational inequities resulting from discipline disparities for youth with disabilities and youth of color. Recent efforts to reduce these disparities have emphasized more relational approaches to behavioral change. Kervick et al.…