The role of self-advocacy in educational decision making is explored. A student's involvement in the individualized education program (IEP) development is considered. (CL)

Analyzes Indiana case involving a school district's efforts to obtain a limited education guardianship and the medical records for a 16-year-old special-education student whose mother refused to cooperate in the development of an IEP. The state appellate court reversed the trail court's decision granting the district's requests. Discusses…

With the passage of No Child Left Behind and the start of the high-stakes accountability movement, it has become increasingly important that teachers are able to appropriately assess all students, including those who qualify for alternate assessments. If suitable assessment is occurring, teachers can use these data to help improve student…

Our standard secondary model of adding standardized educational components to passive students has outlived its worth. A more sculptural metaphor may be of assistance: the idea of removing that which is not essential, of finding and bringing forth the essence of those who come before us.

Although federal special education legislation and the self-determination movement have promoted and increased students' attendance at their Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings, students' active involvement in the IEP process remains limited. This study used the "Self-Directed IEP" with five students identified with a variety of…

In this study, the author analyzed the effects of using the Self-Advocacy Strategy to increase student participation in Individualized Education Program conferences. An experimental design was used to collect data throughout the students' IPLAN program. Student participation and ability to self-advocate increased when the Self-Advocacy Strategy…

In order to gain access to services at universities and colleges, students with learning disabilities must provide documentation of their disability. However, secondary schools are not required by law to provide the documentation often requisite at the postsecondary level. Also, it appears that secondary schools may collect even less psychometric…

The purpose of this guide is to help families prepare for those times during which their child moves from one environment to another and from one developmental stage to another. The focus of the guide is on the role of assistive technology (AT) during those times--how to consider a child's evolving AT needs, how to identify and address the AT…

All students, including students with disabilities, must be included in state accountability systems as required by law. In April 2007, federal regulations provided states the flexibility to offer another assessment option--an Alternate Assessment based on Modified Achievement Standards (AA-MAS) for some students with disabilities. The AA-MAS is…

This exploratory qualitative case study investigated rural K-8 special education teacher perceptions of their positional status as special education teachers who co-teach with their regular education peers. Four special education teachers participated in journal prompts, one-on-one interviews, and a focus group interview. The conceptual lens for…

As the parent of a child who has or may have a disability, the federal and state laws give them certain rights--called procedural safeguards. If they would like a more detailed explanation of these rights, they should contact the principal of their child's school, a school administrator, their local special education director, or any of the…

A component of a school assessment plan includes traditional IQ testing, often referred to as psychological or psycho-educational testing. Psycho-educational testing can yield information about how a student compares to others in her grade or age group, individual strengths and needs, and recommendations to improve instruction. The intended…

Five years ago, the Cecil County Public Schools in Maryland embarked on an aggressive schedule to fully include all students with special needs in the regular education setting to be consistent with the most recent interpretation of "least restrictive environment." At the time, 59 percent of special education students were receiving…

On November 14, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision in "Schaffer v. Weast." This special education decision concerned which party bears the burden of persuasion when parents challenge a school district's Individualized Education Program (IEP) in a due process hearing. In this article, we define burden of persuasion and…

This publication addresses basic issues related to the concept of transition as it is applied to students with disabilities in California. Following a pretest (and its answer key), the document uses a question and answer format to discuss common concerns about transition, normalization, the school role, the "Bridges" model developed by…