While most students receiving special education services in school are educated with the same general curriculum (i.e., instructional materials) as their peers without disabilities, students with extensive support needs and significant cognitive disabilities may qualify to receive instruction with alternate curricular materials aligned with…

Extreme demand avoidance (EDA) is increasingly described as part of the autism spectrum and is sometimes diagnosed as Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA). Yet little is known, about the educational experiences of children with and without EDA behaviours. Using an online survey collecting both quantitative and qualitative data, 211 parents reported…

In this study, we examined the demographic, disability, referral and service needs profile of children with autism spectrum disorder waiting for school placement in the Western Cape Province of South Africa and combined our findings with those of a previous study on children with autism spectrum disorder attending schools in the province over the…

Assembly Bill (AB) 1705 requires community colleges to ensure that students pursuing calculus-based programs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) begin math in the course that best positions them to complete their calculus requirement. According to the law, a college has this obligation for all STEM students, regardless of their…

The article investigates how a change in educational status from general education to special education is associated with students' social confidence and academic outcomes. This study uses longitudinal data, a difference-in-difference model, and propensity score matching techniques. Findings indicate that students placed in special education, on…

Educators and families develop individualized education programs (IEPs) to address unique needs of individual students with disabilities. Addressing all student needs is critical to ensuring students receive a free and appropriate public education. To understand how IEP teams address the needs of students with complex support needs, we examined…

This study investigates the overrepresentation of Black students in special education by looking at the association of race and related variables with referral, identification, and placement. Analyses were performed on a statewide sample of students and teachers to investigate relationships between student, teacher and school demographics, and…

The purpose of this interview-based qualitative study was to explore how individualized education program (IEP) team members determine least restrictive environment and educational placement. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires students with disabilities to be educated in the least restrictive environment and to the…

Inclusive higher education programs support people with intellectual disability (ID) to be included at university. However, until recently such programs have not typically offered the opportunity for students with ID to engage in Work Integrated Learning (WIL) experience. This case study investigates the experiences and processes involved in…

This research focused on the development of inclusion in teacher education based on the inclusion of teacher candidates with their peers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the university environment. Opinions on inclusion in the university environment were examined in terms of the professional development of teacher candidates, taking into…

There is growing evidence that school starting age impacts children's likelihood of receiving special education services, but less is known about variations in this effect. Using a regression discontinuity design, I found that the youngest students in a kindergarten cohort are 40% more likely (p < 0.001) to be placed in special education than…

It is important to understand how longitudinal patterns of special education placement differ from cross-sectional incidence estimates in order to improve measurement precision and better target assistance to students with disabilities. This study used latent class growth analysis in a national-level data set to classify four trajectories of…

Access to general education settings for students with disabilities varies greatly among and within states across the United States and worldwide. The variability in placement and lack of access to general education for students with disabilities, particularly students with extensive support needs, are reasons to identify factors associated with…

Students with complex support needs frequently experience restrictive educational placements such as self-contained and separate school classrooms. Given the need to support students with complex support needs to experience positive outcomes and make progress in the general education curriculum, there is a need to investigate the characteristics…

Students with complex support needs frequently experience restrictive educational placements such as self-contained and separate school classrooms. Given the need to support students with complex support needs to experience positive outcomes and make progress in the general education curriculum, there is a need to investigate the characteristics…