This document presents the program and proceedings of a national forum on new students with disabilities and includes abstracts of presentations by 22 institutions as well as specific conference information. The following institutions are represented: (1) Algonquin College (Ontario, Canada), (2) Austin Peay State University (Tennessee), (3)…

Examines ways to strengthen the middle school's relationship with parents of special needs adolescents. Focuses on establishing a transition plan between elementary and middle school, maintaining ongoing communication with families, providing a variety of advisory options, and generating a school climate of acceptance for all students and…

A longitudinal study of 1,285 high school graduates and dropouts with disabilities, special education teachers, and parents investigated the kinds of school services that are needed and actually received by students with disabilities and the quality of life for the students' last year in high school. Helpful supports are identified. (CR)

Fourteen learning disabilities (LD) teachers and 17 counselors at 31 secondary schools completed a questionnaire concerning their roles in preparing students with learning disabilities for postsecondary education. The open-ended questionnaire covered the following topics: who has primary responsibility for providing transition services, what…

This handbook acquaints special needs students with programs and opportunities available to help them make the transition from school to working. The guide helps students identify their personal strengths, identify goals for the future, determine skills needed to reach those goals, and determine help needed from others. The body of the guide…

Ninety-two parents of disabled infants and preschoolers were surveyed to identify parents' concerns regarding their children's transition into San Francisco public preschool special education programs and to determine what information and services were most helpful. Parent concerns included lack of information about school district services and…

This issue of the quarterly newsletter of the Center for Mental Health in Schools includes the following features and regular segments: (1) Complex Problems, Limited Solutions; (2) Research into Practice: Supporting Successful Transition to Ninth Grade; (3) Schools & MH Research; and (4) Response Form.

This booklet is intended to facilitate the full participation of Minnesota parents of children with disabilities in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process. The booklet begins with a brief discussion of what an IEP is, when IEPs must be in effect, IEP meetings, the IEP team, and parent participation. It next stresses the necessity of…

Guidelines are presented to assist medical, rehabilitative, and educational personnel in helping students with traumatic brain injury make the transition into a school setting. Included are a model for documentation of present level of performance and a guide for appropriate accommodations in public school programs to plan for school reentry. (SW)

Responses from a national survey (Education in the Middle Grades) from 1,753 principals in schools teaching grade 7 highlight the effects of the following practices believed to be responsive to adolescent needs: (1) interdisciplinary teacher teams; (2) group advisory periods; (3) remedial instruction programs; and (4) school transition programs.…

Examines the educational policies and recent legislation concerning special education students in countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The OECD consists mostly of Western industrialized nations and Japan. Includes an overview of programs and resources, as well as several tables of statistical…

This report on a project called Performance Assessment for Self-Sufficiency (PASS) covers activities conducted in the first stage of expert system development: the acquisition of knowledge to be used as the foundation for the expert system prototype. The project is developing an information system for anticipating the service needs of young…

A needs assessment determined the need for independent living skills for high school students with severe disabilities, as perceived by the students (n=45), their parents (n=38) and their teachers (n=7). Results revealed that the students believed that their lives were steadily improving, that they were more satisfied than dissatisfied with the…

Comprised of excerpts from the Responsive Classroom Newsletter, this book details practices for use during the beginning of the elementary school year to build a foundation for a successful school year. Chapter 1, "The First Six Weeks of School: Building the Foundation for a Successful Year" (Ruth Charney and Marlynn Clayton) introduces…

This study contributes to the field by identifying a broad range of traditional and newer middle grade policies and practices, and determining in California which of these differentiate higher- from lower-performing schools serving similar student populations, with performance measured by the state's standards-based tests. Based on a sample of 303…