When the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was reauthorized in 2004, it eliminated the requirement that individualized education programs (IEPs) include short-term objectives or benchmarks, except for students with disabilities who take alternate assessments aligned to alternate achievement standards. Instead, the IDEA regulations…

In 2002, Project Forum conducted a survey on special education forms and a policy forum on the issue of paperwork in special education. Some recommendations that resulted from those activities were included in the 2004 reauthorization of IDEA. With a new reauthorization pending, the topic has again aroused interest. This document presents the…

In May 2006, Project Forum published a document entitled "Standards-Based IEPs: Implementation in Selected States" based on staff interviews in 18 states about their use of standards-based individualized education programs (IEPs). The definition of a standards-based IEP as presented in that document is: "a process and document that…

A policy forum held May 11-13, 2011 to provide input from stakeholders to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) focused on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) accountability reporting system known as the State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR) process. Participants discussed their assessment of the…

Because the virtual public school landscape is relatively new--and changing and expanding at such a rapid rate--very little is known about how these schools are currently serving students with disabilities. The purpose of this document is to describe how state-level virtual public school programs are serving students with disabilities and to…

This policy analysis addresses situations when students with disabilities are placed by a noneducational agency outside the boundaries of their district of residence. Examples of such placements include foster or group homes, correctional facilities or residential treatment programs. For a typical student with a disability residing with his or her…

This policy forum proceedings document contains a short introduction section that describes the current status of virtual public school programs in general and special education programs in particular. Next, this document provides a state-of-the-nation report that describes the exponential growth these programs and the evolving policy issues for…

This document presents a seven-step process to be used in developing a standards-based Individualized Education Program (IEP). Each step is followed by guiding questions for the IEP team to consider in making data-based decisions. Two student examples are provided to illustrate application of the components of a standards-based IEP. The student…

No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) both include a commitment to keep the public informed about educational progress that students are making, and both emphasize the importance of involving parents in the education of their children. An underlying assumption of NCLB and IDEA is that in order…

Involving state content standards in the development of individualized education programs (IEPs) for students with disabilities--a practice most often referred to as "standards-based IEPs"--is a growing area of interest in special education. The Access Center, a federally funded technical assistance resource, is dedicated to helping…

When Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1997, it authorized an evaluation to track progress at the state and local levels on the legislative goals of IDEA. The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) commissioned a national longitudinal study, the Study of State and Local…

When Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1997, it authorized an evaluation to track progress at the state and local levels on the legislative goals of IDEA. The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) commissioned a national longitudinal study, the Study of State and Local…

When Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1997, it authorized an evaluation to track progress at the state and local levels on the legislative goals of IDEA. The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) commissioned a national longitudinal study, the Study of State and Local…