This self-study guide provides state and local education agencies and schools with a tool to assess implementation of career readiness practices across a district or secondary school and to plan improvements. It is arranged by implementation areas that have been found to be important to career readiness efforts based on a review of the literature…

The purpose of this brief is to help families and educators understand the right of students with disabilities who need accessible educational materials to receive these materials in a timely manner. This right is based on provisions in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as well as in the disability civil rights statutes…

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…

This article presents answers to common questions about use of contingency contracts for behavior management with students needing individualized programs in academic or social-emotional areas. A methodological format for developing contracts, a planning worksheet, and a sample contract are included. (DB)

This book is a guide to the development of Individual Transition Plans (ITPs) for students with disabilities. It includes 37 sample ITPs for students with a wide variety of disabilities. The first four chapters describe the formatting necessary for designing the transition planning document and then describe each of the 10 goals, which range from…

Art teachers should create individualized learning programs for their students. Such art programs can assure personalized programs for disabled students and elevate the development of basic skills in art, artistic expression, and art appreciation. (Author/RM)

This guide assists in establishing a collaborative unit or a task group to deliver services to children and youth with serious emotional disabilities and their families. The guide is not intended to be an exhaustive manual, but does address the primary activities of professionals using interagency collaboration to establish comprehensive systems…

This guide to planning for transition from school to work for middle school or high school students with disabilities in California is intended to assist parents, teachers, and other service providers in coordinating person-centered transition planning and services. The first section examines requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities…

The Council of Chief State School Officers' "Accommodations Manual: How to Select, Administer, and Evaluate the Use of Accommodations for Instruction and Assessment of Students with Disabilities" was first developed to establish guidelines for states to use for the selection, administration, and evaluation of accommodations for…

When teachers direct professional growth activities, learning is more meaningful and effective. But how can a program capitalize on this fact while remaining focused on larger school and district performance goals? Individualizing Professional Development explains how to satisfy both individual needs and preferences of teachers and organizational…

Classrooms across the country are discovering the power of service-learning--the ideal way to help students develop social and academic skills while giving back to their community. Now for the first time, there's a practical how-to guide on using serving-learning to promote inclusion and differentiate instruction for students with and without…

The handbook provides a model for beginning and operating programs for talented/gifted students in rural schools, K-12, based on a program developed in Shasta County, California, in 1976-77 and disseminated nationwide in 1978-79. The model produces individualized programs planned by a committee composed of the student, classroom teacher(s),…

This curriculum guide is intended for a high school senior seminar program in which students (gifted, talented, and of all abilities) progress through three main stages: (1) identifying a project; (2) identifying a mentor; and (3) completing the project. The guide includes lesson plans, suggested activities, organizational diagrams, suggested…

This article presents a four-step strategy for developing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for severely disabled learners based on principles of age-appropriate participation in regular classes and special education and related services provided in the regular school environment. Stressed are integration, individualization, teamwork,…

This guide is designed to help individual teachers as they plan for and implement student-led Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for students with disabilities. It presents activities for helping secondary students develop and participate in their IEPs. The first part of the guide is organized around the following five stages for involving…