The audit objective for this report was to determine whether the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PA Education) and selected Pennsylvania local educational agencies have sufficient internal controls to ensure that individualized education programs (IEP) are developed in accordance with Federal and State requirements for children with…

This annual report presents data on students who registered with disability services at Maryland colleges and universities and provides analysis on graduation and retention outcomes for those students. To better understand higher education outcomes for students with disabilities in Maryland, the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC), in…

Families of children with disabilities must constantly work to advocate for their children, find the school that provides the best fit, and assess whether educators are providing the right interventions. This can be exhausting and frustrating, especially when it comes on top of the unique demands of parenting a child with a disability. The Center…

The closure of school buildings due to the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a particular hardship for many students with disabilities and their families. School buildings were closed effective March 18, 2020 through the end of the 2019-20 school year, and only some schools have started the 2020-21 school year with traditional in-person classroom…

The present paper serves as the first systematic review of the training, methodologies, and outcomes reported in the professional development (PD) literature for paraprofessionals working with students with or at risk for externalizing behavior disorders. A total of 16 investigations including 332 paraprofessionals and 852 children and adolescents…

Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) arose from the need to respond to the pervasive racial disparities in behavioral outcomes for students with, and at-risk, for disabilities. Initially, the use of culturally appropriate interventions was indirectly emphasized through PBIS. The purpose of this annotated bibliography is to…

The present study focuses on the experiences of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in higher education. It was important to conduct this study because of the rising numbers of students with ASD in higher education and the scant amount of research available about how to best serve them depending on their actual needs, not the perceived…

The core foundation for higher education is learning. According to O'Banion (2019), "Learning is the core business of all educational institutions, a transcendent value that arches over research, teaching, and service…" (p. 4). However, not all students are afforded the opportunity to learn at their maximum potential. Accordingly,…

Research demonstrates students with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other attention difficulties benefit from using tools to expend energy in positive, socially acceptable means while not distracting others. Tactile fidgets may assist with self-regulated behaviors. This study examined the effectiveness of using hand and foot…

This study sought to investigate the effects of a self-monitoring with goal-setting intervention on students' disruptive behavior. A multiple baseline A-B-BC design was implemented across five elementary school-aged participants diagnosed with ADHD to examine the use of a behavioral intervention combining self-monitoring and goal-setting…

The largest group of students receiving special education services in the United States qualify under the category of Specific Learning Disability (SLD) (Cottrell & Barrett, 2015). The most recent reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004) was the first time that federal special education…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how parents of students with intellectual disabilities (ID) perceive the significance of LRE in IEPs and inclusion models at the elementary level in six school districts in northern Colorado. The sample included 13 parents of children with ID in grades K-5. The theory of…

In this dissertation, I examine both formerly K-12 mainstreamed Deaf students' and sign language interpreters' perspectives on how interpreting services impact deaf students' experiences in mainstream classrooms. I conducted this qualitative study in two cities with large and active Deaf communities and interviewed a group of Deaf individuals and…

The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine the effects of standards-based Individualized Education Programs (SB IEPs) on student achievement. Educators are required to develop IEPs for students with educational disabilities. The purpose of an IEP is to outline the goals and services to be provided to the student in order for the student…

Students of color continue to be labeled with dis/abilities and funneled into segregated settings by special education staff (Annamma, Connor, & Ferri, 2013; Leonardo & Broderick, 2011). The purpose of this study is to highlight the kinds of experiences students and their family's experience in special education related to humanization and…