Individual education programs (IEPs) are the cornerstone of special education programs. The persistence of poor in- and post-school outcomes for students with significant disabilities highlights the importance of developing well-designed IEPs to address their multifaceted needs. We conducted a content analysis of IEPs for 150 high school students…

Many autistic children receive special education services via Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) that include specific educational goals and needs. Prior research has examined programming options available to support autistic students, but less is known about their educational needs across academic and developmental educational goals.…

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…

Students who have the most significant support needs are at high risk for exclusion from general education. Unlock access to inclusive education for these learners with this forward-thinking book, a step-by-step guide to person-centered, strengths-based, and meaningful IEPs for K-12 students with complex support needs. This practical text shows…

The purpose of this qualitative investigation was to understand the beliefs of parents and school personnel about involving secondary-age students with extensive support needs in their specialized health care procedures at school. Participants included parents, special education teachers, school nurses, one-to-one nurses, and paraprofessionals…

Postsecondary entrance and placement tests provide critical information that shapes the trajectory of the transition from secondary to postsecondary education. Test accommodations can play an important role in reducing barriers that deaf students face during high-stakes testing. For deaf students, decisions about access and accommodations for…

Gifted students with learning disabilities have exceptional capabilities and can perform well, but their disability may impede their academic success. Being gifted and learning disabled seems paradoxical. The most misjudged, misunderstood and ignored students and community members are gifted students with learning disabilities. Research about…

The Individualized Education Program (IEP) is the heart of providing special education services to students with disabilities. It is a complex document that is supposed to include several required components. IEP teams are required to be composed of certain individuals, including "a representative of the district who is qualified to provide…

Individualized education programs (IEPs) reflect the spirit of individualized instruction that lies at the heart of special education. Quality annual goal statements, which propel the implementation of special education programming, use clear language to communicate measurable, meaningful, and standards-aligned expectations to all members of the…

"Students with Cochlear Implants: Guidelines for Educational Program Planning" (2015) provides support to teachers of an increasingly diverse population of students who are deaf or hard of hearing. The "Guidelines" include three main sections: Student Background Summary, School-Based Language Competency Checklists, a Team…

Research has begun to identify the breadth and complexity of contextual variables that impact the opportunities, services, and supports students with complex support needs receive across different classroom placements. Indeed, as research has suggested, placement in and of itself may determine the schooling experiences of these students in ways…

This report is an update of the assessment principles and guidelines for English language learners published in 2013 (Thurlow, Liu, Ward, & Christensen). That report, which was developed by the Improving the Validity of Assessment Results for English Language Learners with Disabilities (IVARED) project, presented essential principles of…

When adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) demonstrate impairment in academic performance, school professionals have the option of using strategies that reduce expectations (formally or informally), using interventions that facilitate skill development in the student, or both. Because there are unintended consequences of…

Current research has shown that children with disabilities often felt that their physical education teacher was not prepared to provide them with quality physical education experiences. Over 50% of physical education teachers did not feel prepared to teach children with disabilities. The purpose of this article is to share a "Needs Assessment…

As transition services foster better post-school outcomes, all students with disabilities should be receiving these services as they traverse their final high school years. Using a national, web-based parent survey, we examined the frequency and correlates of the receipt of transition services for 189 students with disabilities. Parents reported…