As schools strive to function as communities, the inclusion of all stakeholders is paramount to establishing and maintaining an important sense of interdependency, equity, and access. In the effort to disseminate information as quickly as possible, however, U.S. high schools often neglect to ensure that their websites are accessible to those with…

An often-overlooked component of a middle school website is the necessity for that website to be accessible to those with disabilities, while following the guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 508 of the Workforce Rehabilitation Act. In support of the belief that support the belief that inclusive education and…

Contemporary education reform movements in the United States have emphasized accountability for student performance. Policy actors serving within the executive branch have arguably gained power in part to provide this accountability function. The present study, in which Ohio and Pennsylvania serve as state case contexts, examines the changing…

The federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) created the Behavioral Interventions for Child Support Services (BICS) demonstration in 2014. The goals of the demonstration were to use insights from behavioral science to develop interventions that could improve child support services and increase parent engagement, and to encourage the…

The audit objective for this report was to determine whether the Ohio Department of Education (Ohio Education) and selected Ohio local educational agencies (LEAs) have sufficient internal controls to ensure that individualized education programs (IEPs) are developed in accordance with Federal and State requirements for children with disabilities…

Special education, for students ages 3 to 21, is guided by federal and state requirements. The federal requirements are referred to as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The state requirements are referred to as the Ohio Operating Standards for the Education of Children with Disabilities (Ohio Operating Standards). IDEA…

The 2020-21 Fordham Sponsorship Annual Report provides insight into our sponsorship work during the last school year, one of the most challenging imaginable for schools, students, and families. As expected, student outcomes on 2020-21 state assessments were lower across all schools last year, but other traditional academic outcome data were once…

Providing accessible learning opportunities and inclusive programs are critical to Extension's mission. Creating inclusive environments is more than consideration for individuals' personal identity. Using principles of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) is an approach to intentionally build community and create new…

The latest edition of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation's sponsorship annual report highlights our work during the 2021-22 school year, overseeing twelve schools that served 5,500 students in four Ohio cities. We value this opportunity to keep stakeholders and the public informed about our efforts, and provide information on each of the schools…

Our 2022-23 Fordham Sponsorship Annual Report shares our work during the last school year, overseeing thirteen schools that served approximately 6,000 students in Dayton, Columbus, Cincinnati and Portsmouth, Ohio. We value this opportunity to keep stakeholders and the public informed about our efforts, provide information on each of the schools we…

A principal has many responsibilities; high on this list includes the need to be educated in current special education requirements to serve students with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to explore the amount of special education legal knowledge that secondary principals in Ohio possess. Demographic information, perceived special…

This case involves inner city students situated within a summer program purported to meet their needs. The administrators charged with creating this program do not necessarily understand the identities of their students or the community needs and desires. This case hinges on the conflict of whether students should be disciplined for using their…

The 2019-20 Fordham Sponsorship Annual Report provides insight into our sponsorship work during the year and the performance of our sponsored schools. In a typical year, performance includes state academic test outcomes, financial measures and operations and governance measures. Due to the cancellation of state testing last spring, you'll see that…

Special education, for students ages 3 to 21, is guided by federal and state requirements. The federal requirements are referred to as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA protects the rights of students with disabilities and the rights of their parents. The state requirements are referred to as the Ohio Operating Standards…

Ohio's charter-closure law is touted as one of the toughest in the nation because it requires the automatic closure of charter schools that consistently fail to meet academic standards. Ohio's charter-closure law, which became effective in 2008 and was revised in 2011, calls for automatic closure of schools rated in Academic Emergency for at least…