When the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (now known as the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act [IDEA]) was initially passed in 1975, it indicated that districts were required to provide children in private schools with access to special education and related services, but it was unclear whether they were entitled to…

The education of students with disabilities in today's schools is being shaped by 2 very powerful laws: the 2004 Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 2004) and the 2001 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Title I, No Child Left Behind Act). These 2 laws are changing our conceptions about special education. Both of…

Suspension and expulsion are widely used to exclude students with and without disabilities who present problem behaviors in school, despite contentious legal debate and evidence associating these methods with high ecological stress and problematic developmental outcomes. Using selected participant data (N = 1,824) from the SEELS study, the study…

The current study investigates school-level factors that affect the performance of students with disabilities on statewide assessments. Data were collected as part of a larger study examining the effects of education policy reform on students with disabilities. Statewide assessment data for students with disabilities from 2 school districts within…

Since the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 states have experienced continual change in how they define and implement alternate assessments. A subset of 16 states was randomly selected to determine how each state is implementing alternate assessments and achievement standards for students with the most significant cognitive…

How is your special-education curriculum impacted by the requirements of IDEA and NCLB? How can you improve student learning and retention to positively influence assessment results? What methods are available for determining your students' present level of performance? In this second edition of "Accessing the General Curriculum", Nolet…

This text presents a framework and strategies for ensuring that students with disabilities have access to the general education curriculum. Chapter 1 discusses standards-based reform and the links between standards and curriculum. The three domains of knowledge for ensuring access are also introduced: content knowledge, learning processes, and…

This paper presents selected findings from a three-year research investigation of general and special education reform initiatives implemented in five local school districts across the United States (including a large urban, predominately minority system; two suburban districts; a small independent city district; a large county-wide system; two…

New accountability requirements contain provisions that mandate the participation of students with disabilities in large-scale assessments and the public reporting of these students' performance along with other important educational outcomes. Discusses the technical, legal, and practical challenges to implementing the new accountability mandates.…

This monograph has been developed as part of an intensive, 3-year study of five local school districts engaged in general and special education reform. The purpose of the study was to examine how educational reforms were being defined and implemented at the local district and school levels, particularly with students with disabilities. The…

This paper is one of four individual case study reports presenting the qualitative findings from a five-year investigation of the impact of accountability reform on students with disabilities in four states, eight districts, and twenty schools. This case study report presents qualitative data collected over a four-year period--2001-2004--from…

To obtain information about costs, University of Maryland researchers interviewed special education directors, principals, and other administrators in 14 schools or districts committed to including all students with disabilities. Respondents identified five affected areas: teachers and instructional assistants, transportation, facilities,…

Examines the 1997 Amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Ac,t noting the law's alignment with standards-based reforms and new provisions in four areas: individualized education programs, state performance goals, student assessments, and funding. Discusses content standards and the general education curriculum, case studies of…

Four studies on special education teacher training were conducted: two surveys of individual states' manpower needs, a survey of preservice special education majors, and interviews with special education faculty from five states. Results revealed conflicting perceptions of teaching competencies, mismatches between training and job expectations,…

This topical review addresses performance goals and indicators for special education, including how to create valid and measurable indicators of key features of special education that can be used to gauge effectiveness as well as target improvement strategies. A section identifying highlights of the review notes that an indicator system consists…