Students in the United States who receive special education services are entitled to receive an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that provides an appropriate level of benefit. Although IEP content is informed by policy mandates and practice recommendations, research has yet to investigate the degree to which school practice is in alignment.…

Students with disabilities who are identified to receive special education services have the right to a free and appropriate public education until they reach the age of 21 according to The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA] (2004). This includes developmentally appropriate sex and reproductive health education for youth with…

Response to intervention (RTI) has evolved from its first decade of implementation. Because states guide and regulate policy and practice at the state and local education agency levels, it is important to understand their critical role in RTI implementation. A systematic review of all 50 state education agency websites was conducted to provide an…

Special education students are entitled to receive accommodations stipulated in their individualized education program (IEP) based on the individuals with disabilities education act (IDEA) (14 Delaware Code, §310, 2016). Although IDEA regulation does not define accommodations, accommodations are embedded within the students' IEP to provide them an…

Implicit in all US science education reform efforts in the past, is equal access and opportunity to learn science for all students regardless of their background and status. However, most science teacher preparation programs (with some exceptions, i.e., those that offer dual endorsement/certification), do not have the capacity or resources to…

The U.S. Department of Education (Department) issued a Dear Colleague Letter (Letter) on November 16, 2015, to "clarify that an individualized education program (IEP) for an eligible child with a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) must be aligned with the State's academic content standards for the grade in…

For more than 40 years many organizations, families, and advocates for students with disabilities have worked toward creating a more inclusive public education system. As a result, many more students served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) spend 80% or more of their school day in general education classrooms. But a…

The primary mechanism for ensuring students with disabilities receive the right educational content and rigor at the right moment in their education is the individualized education program (IEP). This document, "Ensuring an Equitable Opportunity: Providing a High-Quality Education for Students with Disabilities," details policy and…

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), signed into law on December 10, 2015, requires that state education agencies (SEAs) establish standardized, statewide entrance and exit procedures for their English learners (ELs), including ELs with disabilities. For certain ELs with…

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…

Students served through special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is to be provided an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that is an articulation of the student's individual program of educational and related services and instructional focus for the school year. In a standards-based educational environment,…

As states grapple with competing priorities and constrained resources, there is an increasing focus on efficiency and alignment of programs and resources across state agencies. The College and Career Readiness and Success (CCRS) Center recently analyzed and compared four federal laws that govern the education-to-workforce pipeline. They are: (1)…

Assessment is an important part of an overall quality educational program and is, in fact, an integral part of improving classroom instruction. The purpose of educational assessments is to provide an academic check- up and to give educators and parents meaningful information on what students know and can do, and how well they are progressing…

The purpose of the brief is to provide examples from two state education agencies in the United States who took a different path to systemic change through the use of the Active Implementation Frameworks (Fixsen et al. 2013a; Metz & Bartley, 2012). Both states received intensive implementation-informed support from the State Implementation and…

Much has been written on the subject of school turnaround, but relatively little about how to "pay for" turnaround-related work. Turning around low-performing schools not only requires changing instructional and related practices, but changing spending patterns as well. Too often education dollars are spent on the same costs from…