The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates high-quality special education services for U.S. students with visual impairments (VI) in their least restrictive environment. Due to shortages of teachers of students with visual impairments (TVIs) and other resources, however, many students with VI, especially those in rural or…

The debate over the federal government's role in education has taken center stage in recent months, with many arguing that it is time to "hand education back to the states." While state control may sound appealing to some, this perspective overlooks the crucial role the federal government has played in establishing and protecting a…

Section 504 has recently been gaining more traction among parents, educators, and government officials as more Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) ineligible students become eligible for Section 504. To alleviate Section 504 being a special education responsibility and ramp up the lack of 504 professional development efforts for…

The U.S. Department of Education, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, underscores every child's right to integrate, receive support, and fully participate in school life. The problem is that significant disparities exist in reading growth scores between students with disabilities taught in special-education resource settings and…

We examined differences in the receipt and delivery of extended school year (ESY) services in the United States by locale as being rural, urban, or suburban. We found that there were significant differences in the percentage of students receiving ESY services according to locale, with rural local education agencies (LEAs) having a significantly…

Despite legal protections within the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and school requirements in place to provide educational access to students with disabilities, once they graduate from high school these students enroll and persist in college at lower rates compared to peers without disabilities. In addition, graduates of rural…

Despite a long history of overrepresentation in segregated settings (Brock, 2018), students with disabilities who require extensive supports are more likely to receive inclusive placements in rural schools. In this paper, we present findings from a narrative literature analysis of inclusive education for students with disabilities in rural schools…

The problem that was addressed in this study was a rural school district in southeastern Georgia was identified by the Georgia Department of Education as overidentifying African American students as having an intellectual disability (ID). The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of special education eligibility team members…

Rural school leaders encounter an array of complex issues that require legal counsel. Student discipline, contract disputes, employee conduct, special education, and a host of other topics require school boards and superintendents to utilize school attorneys. This descriptive phenomenological study explored the daily experiences of ten school…

This quantitative study sought to investigate school administrators' knowledge of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) across three geographical locales: rural, suburban, and urban/city. Statistical analyses were conducted to determine the overall extent of school administrators' knowledge of the IDEIA (2004) in…

Rural school leaders are faced with challenges to close the achievement gap between subgroups, mainly general and special education. Schools and school systems face several barriers to move forward with positive trends in the data provided by the Alabama State Department of Education. The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' perceptions…

Transition planning is an important element of special education. This study is a secondary data analysis of the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012 (NLTS 2012) that examined parent, student, and adult service agency involvement in the transition process for secondary students with intellectual disability (ID). The NLTS 2012 is the third…

To provide effective rural leadership and ensure students with intellectual disabilities are receiving an appropriate education, principals must understand the substantial needs of these students. Eight principals of remote rural school districts, with at least one year of leadership experience participated in this phenomenological study. Based on…

Inclusion rates for students with disabilities in general education settings have increased nationwide. To further extend this progress, schools, districts, and educational service agencies in rural areas have sought ways to improve their own inclusion metrics. This article describes a technical assistance arrangement that was initiated between a…

Research regarding variables influencing evidence-based practice implementation within school services for students with autism spectrum disorder is limited. Using qualitative methods, the current study applies the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, and Sustainment framework to characterize factors impacting the implementation of practices…