For this 23rd article in the series reviewing recent court decisions concerning appropriate school psychology practice from both professional and legal perspectives, the topic is the substantive standard for free appropriate public education (FAPE) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), with a focus on the classification of…

We document the characteristics of children and young adults identified in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics as having a learning disability and study whether legislative changes in diagnosis criteria have had a noticeable effect determining who receives a diagnosis. We further document that children and young adults identified as a having a…

The present study was conducted to determine whether the problem characteristics of U.S. students school-identified with emotional disturbance (ED) have changed over two decades. We used data from a teacher rating instrument designed to measure the five problem characteristics of ED, as stated in its Individuals with Disabilities Education Act…

Although varying among and within the states, the percentage of students with 504 plans is steadily and significantly increasing as a national average. Although the professional literature addresses the legal standards for eligibility for 504 plans, it has not provided up-to-date information to practitioners as to the legal standard for the…

Developing the ability to summarize written text is a critical literacy skill set for adolescent students with disabilities. Four female students at-risk for emotional and behavioral disorders in a U.S. juvenile justice facility were taught the TRAP+IDEAS mnemonic using the self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) instructional approach to…

There are an estimated 1.5 to 2.5 million children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the United States. These children make up about 3-5 percent of a school's student population. Boys are diagnosed almost ten times more often than girls. Girls tend to be more inattentive and their symptoms are dismissed as those of a day…

The purpose of this Brief is to highlight available federal data about the characteristics of English learners with disabilities, including how the population has changed over time. Understanding the characteristics of English learners with disabilities is critical to ensuring that their needs are met appropriately during the assessment process.…

This article examined the associations between family processes and children's development among mothers and their children participating in early intervention (EI) services. Data from mothers and their infants and toddlers (n = 100) participating in EI were analyzed using regression methods to test the predictive power of maternal depressive…

Students with disabilities (SWDs) are more likely to be suspended or expelled than their general education peers and more likely to be chronically absent. This study uses 5 years of student-level data for all Michigan special education students to examine the relationship between educational setting, absenteeism, and disciplinary outcomes. Using…

The purpose of this study is to replicate a study conducted by Hux, Marquardt, Skinner, and Bond (1999) in which the researchers explored the frequency of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in the special education population as compared to the frequency of TBI among students in general education. Hux and colleagues (1999) found that roughly…

The least restrictive environment (LRE) mandate suggests a preference for educating students with disabilities in general education settings provided their needs can be met there. This study examined national trends in the educational placements of students with disabilities ages 6 to 17 in the 50 states and the District of Columbia from 1990…

After the U.S Department of Education passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1991, school districts quickly noticed that special education students covered under IDEA were receiving disciplinary measures at significantly higher rates than their non-disabled peers. Over 20 years later, special education students still experience…

This technical brief is part of an ongoing series the Center for Learner Equity (CLE) launched in 2015 that examines the enrollment and experiences of students with disabilities in different school settings. Using the 2017-2018 U.S. Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) data released earlier this year, this brief focuses on specialized charter…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that schools assist students with disabilities to develop independent living skills and abilities essential to succeed in most of their life's endeavors. According to the law, each student with a disability must have an individualized education program (IEP), and the IEP must address…

There is often confusion about the terms used to label or describe a reading problem. Clinicians and researchers use different terminology than the schools. For example, medical professionals, psychologists, and other practitioners outside of the school often use the term "dyslexia," "reading disorder," and "specific…