This narrative inquiry explored the schooling and professional experiences of seven teachers who were labeled with learning disabilities, and how those experiences affected their career decisions, teaching strategies, as well as relationships with their students, families, and friends. Their stories also challenged the associated stigmas and…

Enactment of the "Rehabilitation Act of 1973" and the "Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990" expanded and clarified the rights of students with disabilities in higher education (Connor, 2011; Pena, 2014; Troiano, 2003). In the past three decades, the enrollment rate of students with learning disabilities (LD) in higher…

The purpose of this study was to explore the factors that affect faculty members' awareness of disability and self-perceived readiness/willingness to provide accommodations in higher education--particularly for students with learning disabilities. That was achieved through faculty interviews, analysis of data collected, an Elite interview, and…

Public education, at present, is focused on ensuring the success of all students and has tasked educators with producing positive results. Despite this political climate, research has indicated that some learners, such as those considered economically disadvantaged and those requiring special education, tend to face higher adversity, making it…

There has been a long-standing history of segregation and exclusion of students with disabilities from receiving a quality education in public school districts throughout the country. In response to the growing outcry for equal opportunities for students with and without special needs, Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act…

The very first federal law that affected a student with special needs was the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA: Public Law 94-142) established in 1975 by the United States Congress. PL 94-142 required all schools that received federal funds to accept students with physical and mental disabilities and to educate these children in the…

The aim of this study was to explore the variation in student behavior across the ED, LD, and OHI disability categories and to examine demographic, behavioral, and academic factors that may place students at risk for negative outcomes. This study used teachers' rating of students' in-class behavior to identify latent classes of students in the ED,…

The purpose of Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) is to protect the rights of students with disabilities and to assure that all students receive equitable access to a free and appropriate public education; yet there are explicit exclusions written in the law for students who may have experienced environmental,…

Purpose: Following recent federal legislation and related policy changes, co-teaching evolved rapidly as a strategy to provide students with disabilities access to the same curriculum as students without disabilities while receiving instruction in the least restrictive environment. It is unclear if co-teaching is an effective instructional…

The goal of this study was to investigate the experiences of adolescents with disabilities who have lived in group homes, and their expectations for their future. For that purpose, a qualitative design utilizing a phenomenological approach was used in this study. A purposeful sample of eight participants was interviewed using open-ended questions.…

Today's high school student faces several complex experiences that impact his or her decision to stay in school. These factors, often a culmination of school events beginning in the elementary years, are correlated to a student's likelihood of graduating from high school. Moreover, students with disabilities face additional factors that impact the…

After the passing of the Individuals with Disabilities Act of 2004, many schools began to use a Response to Intervention (RtI) model instead of the discrepancy model when identifying students with specific learning disabilities (National Center on Response to Intervention, 2011). When elementary schools adopted the RtI model, it was shown to be…

Although the "Rehabilitation Act of 1973" and the "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990" have mandated the necessity of services for students with disabilities to receive equal access to education, a clear picture of what contributes to academic success is still lacking. Research indicates that students with disabilities…

Institutions of higher education are experiencing historic enrollment of students with disabilities. The focus of this evaluation report was Jumpstart, a transition program for students with disabilities entering their first year of college. The Jumpstart program prepares talented students with disabilities to navigate the college environment at a…

While special education law has been amended several times since the statutory definition of a Specific Learning Disability (SLD) was created in 1968, there continues to be ambiguity within the field regarding the definition as well as the diagnostic criteria. This inevitably leads to a lack of consistency in diagnosis within states and among…