The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of public school leaders about principal leadership for special education in ten leadership categories: understanding law and policy, using data to improve teacher performance, using data to improve student performance, creating an inclusive culture, collaborating with families,…

Preparation of high quality personnel to provide educational services to students with disabilities living in rural areas is, at best, challenging. Findings from a comprehensive study concerning the status of the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in rural settings and the issues such implementation presents…

What is Response to Intervention (RTI) and how can it benefit your school? Find out in "RTI Success", an all-in-one resource that provides information on this innovative model as well as step-by-step administrator guidelines and practical teacher tools for implementation. Despite ongoing federal initiatives meant to increase the profile…

The author discusses improvement in quality of special education through the use of the individualized education program (IEP) as a placement, instructional, and planning tool. Conditions necessary for using the IEP effectively are listed. Implementation of the IEP as placement, instructional, and planning tools is noted to depend on four…

Public schools must make available special education and related services to all IDEA-eligible (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) students with disabilities beginning at age three and through age 18. Services to students, ages 19, 20, and 21, are permissive. That means the decision to serve 19, 20 and 21-year-old students is determined…

One of 10 documents developed for preschool programs for handicapped children, the manual focuses on a transdisciplinary approach to developing community awareness and interagency cooperation. The program provides concrete methods for helping an agency understand a community's character and develop a tailor made awareness program. An introductory…

The clinical aspects and staff training needs for two substance use disorder (SUD) treatment programs that serve persons with co-existing disabilities are described. The article addresses SUD prevalence among persons with disabilities and the corresponding specialized treatment needs and accommodations that may be necessary. The philosophical…

Tips are provided for implementing successful inclusion programs for students with disabilities, including providing continuing, consistent support with structured staff-development activities; eliciting parental collaboration in all aspects of the inclusion effort; enhancing peer involvement, and facilitating classroom diversity by making…

This paper offers guidelines for effectively integrating preschool children with disabilities in classrooms with nonhandicapped children. First, formal aspects of program integration including legislative requirements and the Child Find program to identify young children needing special services are reviewed. Next, program planning guidelines are…

These recommendations concerning the integration of students with and without disabilities in public schools begin with an operational definition of integration and a list of general parameters guiding successful integration. Recommendations are then offered in several areas, including: (1) training, which should be systematic, comprehensive,…

This study extended the limited research on the utility of tactile prompts and examined the effects of a treatment package on implementation of a token economy by instructional assistants in a classroom for students with disabilities. During baseline, we measured how accurately the assistants implemented a classroom token economy based on the…

This practicum aimed to facilitate development and implementation of recommended practices by an early childhood special education team working with a University Affiliated Program (UAP). A site development project was being developed in response to the recognition by UAP center staff that their activities were not sufficient in helping early…

This report analyzes and documents the ways that existing educational service systems have successfully modified their roles in order to improve school-to-adult-life transition services for students with disabilities. The report is based on findings from development of a model cooperative transition services system, which revealed that new roles…

This chapter on designing and implementing effective staff development programs is taken from a guide to instruction and services for students with disabilities. The chapter focuses on assessment of staff development needs and identification of priorities for training. Staff development options are discussed in terms of formats (such as workshops,…

This report on the fourth year of Colorado's participation in Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act describes major accomplishments in preparing for full implementation of Part H in Year 5. Accomplishments in the following areas are discussed: state definition of developmental delay, central directory, timetables for serving…