The Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program is growing at an unsustainable pace. Over the past 40 years the number of disabled worker beneficiaries has increased nearly sixfold, rising from 1.5 million in 1970 to 8.2 million in 2010. Rapid growth in the rolls has put increasing pressure on program finances. The rapid rise in SSDI…

Challenging student behaviors are a prominent factor in the development of teacher stress and burnout. When classroom-based teachers of preschool children with disabilities were surveyed to identify their training needs in one North Carolina county, the most frequent request was how to address behavior challenges of preschool children with…

Assistive technology use in secondary school and postschool has been shown to improve the educational attainment and life outcomes of students with high-incidence disabilities. This study used data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2--collected in the early to mid-2000s--to explore the relationship between receipt of assistive…

Many students with physical disabilities have difficulty with writing fluency due to motor limitations. One type of assistive technology that has been developed to improve writing speed and accuracy is word prediction software, although there is a paucity of research supporting its use for individuals with physical disabilities. This study used an…

The Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD), asked the Council of the Great City Schools to review the district's services for students with disabilities and provide recommendations to improve performance and narrow the achievement gap between these students and their nondisabled peers. This report was designed to help SCUSD achieve its…

Response to intervention (RTI) is an approach to instruction, assessment, and intervention that enables early identification of students who are experiencing academic or behavioral difficulties. The jurisdictions served by the Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands expressed interest in a study of whether and how state education…

The disproportional representation of culturally, linguistically, and ethnically diverse and low-income students in special education and gifted and talented programs has been a persistent issue for many decades. It has been a long standing trend that the percentage of minority students constituting special education programs exceeds their…

This program evaluation study addressed the struggle of local elementary school speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in a school district to provide evidence-based intervention in language for students below grade level as required by the U.S. Department of Education. Recently, Language Lab™ was published to address the needs of oral language…

In response to high rates of attrition, increasing numbers of states and localities are developing mentoring programs as a means of retaining qualified special education personnel. Based on examples drawn from around the country, including states and localities with which the Personnel Improvement Center (PIC) has worked, this practice brief…

"Masculinities in Higher Education" provides empirical evidence, theoretical support, and developmental interventions for educators working with college men both in and out of the classroom. The critical philosophical perspective of the text challenges the status-quo and offers theoretically sound educational strategies to successfully promote…

A comprehensive search identified 31 state statutes and regulations specific to functional behavioral assessments (FBA) and behavior intervention plans (BIP) in the special education context. A systematic tabulation of the state law provisions that exceed the rather narrow foundation requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act…

Positive outcomes have been reported for university preparation courses for students without disabilities. Little is known about whether these courses can offer the same benefit to students with learning disabilities and whether the inclusion of psychosocial factors, in addition to academic skills, would benefit both groups. First-level students…

"Bullying" is defined as any aggressive behavior with the intent to harm that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. Bullying is identified as one of the most predominant problems faced by children in the United States education system, as well as one of the most significant health risks to children. Exactly how prevalent this issue is…

The effects of a parent-coached language intervention on parent stress and its relation to parent perceptions of communication development were examined in 60 parents of toddlers with developmental delays. Results indicated that overall parent stress was not high prior to or following language intervention. Parents' perceptions about the severity…

The international community has identified a positive link between good governance and economic development. There is an increasing appreciation of the effective role that local policy research organizations (PROs) can play in providing evidence-based policy recommendations as the basis for sound legislation and in assessing the efficacy of…