With the advancement of healthcare initiatives and legislative mandates, occupational therapists are facing the demand of providing health promotion and prevention services to a variety of populations -- including students in public schools. In addition to these mandates, pioneers in the field of occupational therapy forecasted the importance of…

This guide was developed by the Louisiana Department of Education to help parents navigate the complex system that oversees special education in Louisiana's public schools. Each school year, local education agencies (LEAs) are required to provide parents a copy of the procedural safeguards. These safeguards are used to inform parents of the…

Homeless children and youth experience many challenges in enrolling and attending school and achieving educational success. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (reauthorized under Title X, Part C of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and subsequently referred to as the McKinney-Vento Act in this brief) ensures rights and services for…

While the provision of a "free appropriate public education" (FAPE) has contributed significantly to the educational experiences of students with disabilities, little is known about how services are actually provided in an online learning setting. Thus, telephone and face-to-face interviews were conducted with state directors of special…

The practice of inclusion is not a new idea to the educational setting; it is a newer term. Before No Child Left Behind, during the 1970s students with disabilities were mainstreamed into the general education population under Public Law 94-142. Public law 94-142, which was renamed to Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act (IDEA), required…

The reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams to base the selection of special education, related services, and supplementary aids and services on peer-reviewed research (PRR) to the extent practicable. This article examines the intended purpose of the PRR provision and…

Education has seen its share of trends and movements that either help or hinder the optimal development of the gifted child. In 2001, Congress passed No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in a concerted effort to reach children who were not meeting minimal standardized goals of achievement. Response to Intervention (RtI) is yet another approach to ensure…

The reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), signed on December 3, 2004, required that, not later than one year after the date of enactment of the reauthorized IDEA, each state is required to have in place a performance plan evaluating the state's implementation of Part B and describing how the state will improve such…

Inclusion for students with disabilities into the general education classroom has grown exponentially over the last decade. With legislation, such as, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and The Individuals with Disabilities Educational Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004 schools are moving towards integrating their classrooms more than they ever have in the…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires that all students be assessed academically in mathematics and reading, and for purposes of adequate yearly progress (AYP), participation rates in statewide assessments must be 95 percent for all students. Federal law requires states to have at least one alternate assessment to evaluate the performance…

What ought authorizers do to ensure that the charter schools they approve provide a quality education to students with disabilities who enroll in their school? That is the question many authorizers wrestle with as they strive to strike a balance between fulfilling their responsibilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)…

Educators and specialists are required to teach children using "scientifically based research" ([section] 1208(6)(37), No Child Left Behind Act of 2001) or "to the extent practicable, special education and related services will be based on peer-reviewed research" ([section] 614 (d)(10)(A)(i)9IV) of the Individuals with…

The purpose of this document is to provide operators with implementation and operational technical assistance related to special education in charter schools. Special education is a very complicated component of public education and providing operators with technical assistance regarding special education is particularly challenging. This primer…

Considerable debate exists about the failure of the federal government and the states to fully fund the special education mandates that have been placed into law and further expanded by case law. Work in local school districts is increasingly affected by the deliberate decisions that have created legal requirements for districts to provide…

In the early 1990's, charter schools were a new concept being implemented by a few states and communities across the country. Today there are over 3,000 charter schools operating in 40 states and the District of Columbia. The growth of charter schools has compelled that we understand what charter schools are and how they impact responsibilities…