Administrators at the site level oversee a varied selection of curriculums, staff, activities, and students. Understanding the complexity of the role of the special education administrator strengthens the need to be consistent with communication across all levels of administration both at the site and district level. This quantitative replication…

Managing a caseload of students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) is a demanding working condition for special education teachers (SETs). Large and unmanageable caseloads are important because of the connections to the instability of the SET workforce, including the longstanding SET shortage. Researchers have recommended hiring more…

Previous research has shown that parents of children receiving special education services often have negative feelings associated with Individual Education Plan (IEP) meetings, such as feeling confused, overwhelmed, intimidated, powerless, frustrated, and undervalued (Stoner et al., 2005; Ilik & Er, 2019; Mueller & Vick, 2019). Currently…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine the preparation of special education teachers to manage conflict in IEP meetings. For the purposes of this study, conflict is defined where an advocate and/or lawyer were present at an IEP meeting. Twenty special educators were interviewed who have been in conflict-laden IEP…

This mixed-methods phenomenological study examined elements that impact Individualized Education Program (IEP) team members in supporting placement for students with disabilities (SWD) in inclusive early childhood education programs. Best practices in education and federal law stipulate that schools educate SWD in settings as close to general…

Students present with mental health needs and posttraumatic stress symptoms, yet they largely do not receive necessary services. Since schools are an ideal setting for students to receive mental health services, Mental Health Action Plans (MHAPs) were developed to define and detail the ways in which student mental health needs can be addressed at…

Discipline disproportionality among African American students with disabilities is well documented in empirical research; however, there are limited studies about school administrators' perspectives on practices leading to disproportionality for this population. The purpose of this study was to examine school administrators' perspectives on…

School administrators are required to serve on Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams, yet many do not have the special education content knowledge and training to successfully participate in the special education process. With the accountability measures enacted by the Every Student Succeeds Act, a school administrator's performance is…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether peer mentors and inclusive practices in the Foundations program increased students' IEP goal progress. Study participants consisted of 8th grade typical peers and 6th through 8th grade students in the Foundations Program in the Appoquinimink School District. Peer mentors inquired and were selected…

The Individualized Education Program (IEP) is the central vehicle for school teams and families to develop an individualized program of instruction for students with disabilities. When school teams and families disagree, it can lead to negative results, including due process and mediation (Blackwell & Blackwell, 2015; Mueller & Piantoni,…

Annual goals are an essential component of Individual Educational Programs (IEP), which are developed for students with disabilities, and which are informed by data. However, the methods and practices that special educators use to make sense of data to inform the annual IEP goals represent a gap in research literature. This qualitative study was…

The problem of this basic qualitative study was that students served in self-contained classes had limited access to the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process due to the rationed participation by parents and teachers (i.e., advocates), which may have been restraining students' ability to prepare for adult living expectations within their…

This dissertation comprises three complementary studies that aim to advance the understanding and practice of Individualized Education Programs (IEP) and Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) development in special education. In the first study, we systematically reviewed empirical research measuring IEP…

Students with disabilities face many challenges as they transition to postsecondary education. These students are often unprepared for the rigor of postsecondary academics; they often lack self-efficacy skills and have limited awareness of postsecondary supports or cannot successfully access them. This study aims to give voice to college students…

Students with disabilities face many challenges as they transition to postsecondary education. These students are often unprepared for the rigor of postsecondary academics; they often lack self-efficacy skills and have limited awareness of postsecondary supports or cannot successfully access them. This study aims to give voice to college students…