A national survey of 133 secondary vocational educators examined practices and perceptions toward grading students with disabilities. The majority of respondents included a competency-based grading component, believed that student effort should be used to determine grades, and had never been involved in their students' Individualized Education…

Teacher-parent collaborative consultation can be useful in planning appropriate vocational programs for adolescents with disabilities. Such consultation can involve informing parents of vocational opportunities, planning vocational assessment and collecting vocational information, developing vocational components of individualized education plans,…

Analysis of the Supreme Court's 1982 decision in "Board of Education of Hendrick Hudson Central School District versus Rowley" suggests that the more recent and more liberal interpretation requiring educational programs to confer some meaningful benefit is in keeping with Congress's and the Court's original intent. (DB)

Explains the educational rights that exist for special needs children and ways that parents can advocate to obtain appropriate services. Benefits of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) are explained as well as what to do if the parent disagrees with the IEP assessment. (GLR)

Reviews and synthesizes court rulings that have expressly discussed the factor of economic cost in considerations of appropriateness of special-education programing. Advises educators to expend their resources in providing appropriate individual special-education programs rather than litigating the costs of those programs. (197 references) (MLF)

Analyzes several cases involving students with disabilities and assesses how courts determine the supervisory standard of care for disabled students injured on school premises. Explores the extent to which special characteristics of students with disabilities might affect the standard of care owed to such students. (MLF)

Notes that as more young children with disabilities are included in classrooms for children who are developing typically, practitioners must continue to identify and refine strategies for making inclusion successful. Discusses a successful inclusion program that is observation based and child initiated. Discusses a procedure that facilitates the…

After an introduction to the problems experienced by Australian individuals with multiple disabilities and their families, this article outlines the use of the McGill Action Planning System, or MAPS, to improve or develop educational programs. The timing and relationship between MAPS and Individual Education Plans are also discussed. (Contains…

This article highlights the necessary components of a functional behavioral assessment, a decision making framework concerning the selection of assessment and intervention procedures to be used at school, and a description of one practical functional behavioral assessment tool, the Initial Line of Inquiry, that has been employed by school-based…

Accounts are presented from five Latin American families concerning their attitudes toward and experiences with the special education system. All indicated high degrees of commitment and involvement, but responses varied concerning understanding of Individualized Education Plans, awareness of rights and options, and willingness to challenge school…

At Baltimore's Eastern Technical High School, the resource center helps make full inclusion effective for all students. In this small and busy classroom, one cannot distinguish special-education students from "regular" students. All have special needs, whether they are gifted and talented or are identified as having severe…

Since the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act became law, advocacy groups, educators, and the courts have struggled to define "least restrictive environment." Viewpoints have ranged from stressing total inclusion to combining special/regular education resources to benefit all students and providing a full continuum of services in…

This article comments on recommended changes to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) included in "Perspectives on the Future of the IDEA" (Hardman and others). It is argued that we have ignored and trivialized important legal requirements already in IDEA, and that the current IDEA has served us well. (CR)

This examination of a case that is seeking to determine whether a district in Tennessee met its obligation under the Individuals with Disabilities Act to provide a "free appropriate public education" to a student with autism concludes that the courts' decisions to date are already literally remarkable for several reasons. These reasons…

The development and implementation of discipline programs for students with exceptional education* needs is a challenging endeavor for school leaders. This case focuses on the application of disciplinary procedures for a chronically disruptive student who is classified severely emotionally disturbed. The case provides a catalyst for educational…