As the country quickly builds its efforts to enhance quality in early education and care classrooms, states are implementing Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) to recognize and improve the quality of programs. QRIS also provides technical support and increased financial benefits for participating programs to attain higher levels of…

Since the reauthorization of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 2004, standards-based individualized education plans (IEPs) have been an expectation for serving students with disabilities in the K-12 public school setting. Nearly a decade after the mandates calling for standards-based IEPs, special educators still struggle…

Special education professionals are charged to develop relevant, compliant, and legally defensible IEPs for transition-age students with disabilities. This charge is intensified as educators strive to provide plans that will genuinely prepare students for postsecondary education, employment, and independent living. This manuscript demonstrates how…

This guide is designed as a reference for District and School personnel working with English learners (ELs). The content of the guide represents a compilation of information, examples, and resources. This guide is a living document and subject to frequent updates. It is recommended to review the document online rather than printing a hard copy.

The administrator's manual is designed to help Minnesota's school districts to implement their new surrogate parent programs. The first section explains what must occur according to federal and state rules and regulations on the topic. Three steps are identified: (1) identifying students who need surrogate parents; (2) recruiting and naming…

The guidelines for programs and services for the disadvantaged and handicapped cover areas of concern essential to Department of Adult, Vocational, and Technical Education's program approval/evaluation and project proposals/grants: students served; occupational programs; administrative organization; personnel; objectives; evaluation; resources…

The Comprehensive Plan for the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) in New York State contains both long-range goals and short-term actions for the next 20 years with a series of specific actions proposed for the current 3-year (1985-87) period. The first chapter provides program background with sections on OVR'S mission, recent trends in…

The manual outlines New York state procedures regarding the development, implementation, and review of individualized education programs (IEPs) for handicapped children. Charts listing the sequence of events, persons responsible and parties involved, productive outcomes, form of documentation, and relation to intent of law and regulations are…

The manual on work experience programs for special education students focuses on issues of program development and enhancement of existing services. Developed by an Arizona state task force, the manual begins with a rationale to students, employers, and the community. A model conceptualizes the career development process as it relates to…

The plan documents Minnesota's policies and procedures for implementing state and federal statutes concerning the education of handicapped students. The following topics are covered: right to education, full educational opportunities goal, policy on priorities, child identification, Individual Educational Programs, procedural safeguards, the least…

The manual is intended for training surrogate parents of handicapped children according to Minnesota and federal statutes and regulations. Section 1 provides an overview of the surrogate parent program, noting relevant legislation, functions, rights, and responsibilities. Section 2 reviews the history of special education and related state and…

The Massachusetts Special Education Manpower Planning Project is described. Relying on cooperative planning, the project developed a system to provide information on manpower planning, a system to link other agencies with the project, and annual statements of state special education training priorities. The project also collaborated with six other…

This document contains an executive summary of a study designed to: determine the status of early intervention (birth-to-3) programs for handicapped children in Illinois, to make recommendations for future planning, and develop training modules focused on the findings. It discusses the study's rationale, method, and design; estimates incidence…

The state plan outlines aspects of special education in Kansas. The initial section provides background information and outlines the needs in teaching positions (both professional and paraprofessional) and in the numbers of students receiving special education. The second section addresses the following state department operations: administration…

This document presents information needed for development of contractual or cooperative arrangements between local school districts and other agencies and programs in Kentucky in order to better serve preschool children who are at risk of educational failure or who have identified disabilities. After an introductory section, the Preschool…