This digest discusses the difficulty of assessing the speech and language of culturally and linguistically diverse students and recommends strategies for identifying communication disorders. It begins by reviewing what qualifies as a communication disorder, discussing the limitations of speech and language tests, and outlining test considerations.…

The Secretary amends the regulations governing nondiscrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, handicap, and age to conform with statutory amendments made by the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 (CRRA). These amendments add a definition of "program or activity" or "program" that adopts the statutory…

This paper reports on the range of methods used by state education agencies (SEAs) to report special education information to the public and the challenges related to this reporting. The report is based on a September 2001 survey completed by state directors of special education from 34 states. First, the paper summarizes reporting requirements of…

An ongoing study seeks to identify effective curriculum policies and classroom practices in high-performing rural elementary schools that contribute to positive outcomes for students with disabilities and low-income students. Schools in Maryland and Delaware were first ranked by the percentage of students eligible for free and reduced-priced meals…

This document is one of a series of reports based on the Special Education Expenditure Project, a study of the nation's spending on special education and related services based on analysis of data for the 1999-2000 school year. This report focuses on general patterns of variation in total spending on special education students across districts…

This study, written in both English and Spanish, examined the decision-making process of Hispanic families living in the United States who have a child with a hearing loss. Twenty-nine families in four different geographical areas shared their experiences in learning about their child's disability, searching for appropriate interventions, and…

The Exceptional Athlete Matters (World T.E.A.M.) Sports (WTS) brings individuals together to undertake unique athletic events throughout the world to encourage, promote, and develop opportunities in sports for people, with and without disabilities. This classroom program on character education provides teachers with lesson plans on three themes…

This paper describes the IRIS (IDEA and Research for Inclusive Settings) Center, which is designed to create and implement a comprehensive national resource for faculty teaching preservice courses in general education, school administration, school counseling, and school nursing. Its intention is to develop new graduates who can meet the needs of…

This final report describes the activities and outcomes of a federally funded project that was designed to prepare African-American students at the graduate level as teachers in Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE), who would be capable of meeting the special education needs of young children with disabilities, ages birth through five, and…

This final report describes the activities and outcomes of Opening Doors: Decisions about Life and Work Project, a project designed to assess the effectiveness of integrating information and support on Supplemental Security Income work incentives into the transition planning process for students with disabilities. The primary goal of the project…

Concerned with social contexts and culture as they apply to parenting, this volume, the fourth of five on parenting, deals specifically with socially defined groups of parents and social conditions that promote variations in parenting. The volume consists of the following 15 chapters: (1) "Ethnic and Minority Parenting" (Cynthia Garcia…

This final report summarizes the activities of TIME (Training in a Manila Envelope), a federally funded project designed to replicate the Child Care plus+ model of inservice training by providing: (1) a course on inclusion directly for child care providers and other early childhood professionals in rural areas across the nation; and (2) training…

This digest discusses strategies for providing students with disabilities with access to the general education curriculum. It begins by presenting educational principles that need to be accepted to ensure successful student access, including: (1) responsibility for learning outcomes of special education students should be equally shared by the…

A survey was conducted on the use of lay advocates to investigate state reaction to a recent court decision in Delaware on the use of lay advocates and the availability of representation for parents of students with disabilities in due process hearings. The Delaware Supreme Court found in 1999 that lay advocates representing parents at due process…

This document strives to answer questions about school choice, such as What does school choice mean?, What does school choice look like?, and What are the likely consequences of giving parents greater voice in their children's education? Reports are grouped into three thematic chapters. In chapter 1, "Public-Public Choice," reports include:…